It's important that medical staff be able to correctly diagnose cyanosis through clinical observation.
A hospital’s number one priority is patient care. An important aspect of medical diagnosis thorough clinical observation is the reliable detection of cyanosis.
Cyanosis is a condition where the skin and mucous membranes give off a bluish discolouration, which indicates that oxygen levels in the blood are dangerously depleted. The ability of medical staff to reliably detect the onset of cyanosis by visual observation may be critical to a patient’s well being.
The detection of cyanosis requires adequate power output around the 660nm wavelength. If the output is too low a patient’s skin colour may appear darker and they may be diagnosed as cyanosed when this is not the case. On the other hand, if the output is too high it may mask the cyanosis and it may not be diagnosed when it is present. The end result is that clinical staff cannot rely on visual detection.
To meet the Australian Hospital Standard and be suitable for detecting cyanosis in hospitals, all lamps must meet two criteria: a Cyanosis Observation Index of less than 3.3 and a colour temperature between 3200K and 5500K. Lamps with colour temperatures above 5500K provide false positive diagnoses of cyanosis and lamps with colour temperatures below 3200K results in failure to detect cyanosis.
Fluorescent lamps commonly in use may not have a continuous spectrum. When selecting lamps for the reliable diagnosis of cyanosis, Hospitals need to ensure that the lamps chosen have a COI of 3.3 or lower, have a colour temperature between 3200K and 5500K and are long lasting and cost effective.
The Hitachi AAA fluorescent tube has a COI of 3.0, a colour temperature of 5000K and the highest colour rendition index of all lamps currently on the market. The Hitachi AAA tube has been tested, approved and is the recommended fluorescent tube for hospitals. This makes the Hitachi AAA fluorescent tubes the best lighting option for operating theatres, patient treatment rooms, consultation rooms, accident emergency areas and other areas within a hospital that require perfect colour rendition of skin.
The Hitachi AAA tubes have a long life of 10,000 hours and hold a 1-year warranty that covers lamp failure and fading and is available in two sizes, a 20w (2ft) and 40w (4ft) lamp.
