Projects That Matter |
EWH Design Competitions |
Stand Alone Surgical lamp
The goal for this project is to make a surgical lamp using LED bulbs and batteries for power and does not require any form of ceiling mount. LEDs are significantly more efficient than incandescent lamps, meaning this device will have a longer operating life before any parts need to be replaced. Power failures are very common in developing countries due to unreliable power grids being overused. Having a battery alleviates the need to further tax the power supplies. Infrastructure is also a common problem in these hospitals so having a surgical lamp which doesn't require any ceiling supports can be significantly more useful.
Students at weekly Sunday workshops to construct the surgical lamp. The bottom left image shows the first time the bulbs were plugged in after wiring.
Our surgical lamp is constructed from PVC pipe to utilize a low-cost material which can be found rather easily even in developing countries. The light comes from 15-60W general purpose LED bulbs. The cylindrical shape was chosen to save space, allowing more lights to be put into the housing. The rest of our materials are rather unusual. A large aluminium mixing bowl is used for the lamp housing as it is very cheap and can easily be replaced. The housing is hung from the stand using a short piece of metal hose allowing for an adjustable joint.
Student painting the lamp stand with tiger stripes. The lamp is being shown at Imagine RIT on May 7, 2016. The paint job may be unusual for the EWH design competition but showing school spirit is important too!
Next Steps
Currently, our lamp is powered with a standard power cable. A battery will be added to give the user flexibility in regards to powering the device. A simple lens should be added to help focus the light. Further work also needs to be done on the adjustable joint that the lamp housing hangs from to give it more stability.