Eye Surgery Light

During eye surgery, surgeon uses light called ophthalmoscope for close examination of the retina. Ordinarily, electricity is used to power light through a swivel arm or floor pedestal, but when more than one ophthalmoscope is used, tangling and interference of power cords becomes a problem. Lewis Research Center responded to this problem with a battery powered system that totally frees the surgeon of attached cords and swivels. They used small lightweight nickel-cadmium batteries that can deliver high intensity light for an hour and can be recharged overnight. Ophthalmoscope Powerpack consists of eight batteries in three containers affixed to a webbed belt and a novel on-off switch equipped with a spring loaded plexiglass flapper." The belt pack is worn underneath surgical gown; flapper permits doctor to activate the switch by elbow pressure."

Full article: http://hdl.handle.net/hdl:2060/20070018882