GE Plastics Helps Merivaara Spotlight New Material Solutions for its Merilux Examination Lamp

Merivaara, a leading supplier of medical equipment in northern Europe, designs its products to optimize patient treatment – both by improving patient comfort and by increasing caregiver efficiency. The company sought to redesign its Merilux X1 general-purpose examination lamp to reduce the amount of heat generated by the existing aluminum reflector, which could make the patient, examination room, and lamp housing too warm. At the same time, Merivaara wanted to simplify the design of the housing, which was constructed primarily of metal. To find better material solutions for these two very different components, Merivaara turned to GE Plastics because of its broad array of high-tech products and many value-added services.

GE Plastics and Merivaara Oy

The Challenge: Improving Patient Comfort with a Cooler Examination Lamp

Headquartered in Lahti, Finland, Merivaara Oy develops, manufactures, and distributes medical products to nursing homes and hospitals. The company’s Merilux X1 lamp series is designed for use during examinations and operations in such healthcare settings as emergency rooms, outpatient surgery centers, and recovery rooms. The existing design incorporated a housing made from an extruded aluminum profile with injection-molded plastic end caps, and a faceted aluminum reflector.

Because of numerous drawbacks associated with this lamp, Merivaara wanted to find new materials for an upgraded design. Jyrki Nieminen, Head of R&D for Merivaara, explained, “In creating our equipment, Merivaara places the highest importance on optimizing patient care. For this reason, the most important concern about our Merilux lamp was the excessive heat generated by the metal reflector. Too much heat could make the patient uncomfortable, and also raise the temperature of the operating room or exam room, affecting clinical staff. We needed a way to reduce heat generation.”

Another goal of the redesign was to reduce system costs through part consolidation. Finally, the company wanted to move away from metal to gain greater design flexibility for future versions of the lamp. To help achieve all these objectives, Merivaara decided to work with GE Plastics.

The Solution: GE’s Valox* and Ultem* Resins for Metal Replacement

From GE’s portfolio of resins grades, Merivaara identified Valox 865 resin, a 30 percent glass-fiber-reinforced blend of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to replace the aluminum lamp housing. The high-performance GE resin met Merivaara’s requirements for heat resistance (up to 120 C), chemical resistance to withstand surface disinfectants, and custom color capabilities.

For the lamp reflector, Merivaara utilized GE’s extensive experience in lighting technology and its high-performance Ultem polythermide (PIE) resin. Reflectors injection-molded with GE’s Ultem 1000 resin - Merivaara’s ultimate choice - in combination with aluminum metallization, direct visible light downward while radiating infrared “heat” upward toward the top of the lamp and away from the patient. Another benefit of Ultem resin is its ability to be metallized without pre-treatment.

Rob de Jong, Industry Manager for GE Plastics, said, “GE has devoted significant resources to the development of new lighting solutions for the healthcare industry. Our Ultem resin family delivers improved performance compared to metal reflectors in terms of temperature management, dimensional stability, and lighter weight. Reflectors molded from Ultem resins instead of metal help reduce heat while providing excellent light distribution for better care delivery.”

The Benefits: “Cold Mirror” Reflection Improves Patient Care

By redesigning the Merilux X1 lamp series with GE materials, Merivaara has gained a number of benefits. In both the lamp housing and reflector, plastics provide greater design flexibility than metal, enabling part consolidation and elimination of secondary processes. The housing, which previously required production and assembly of three separate parts, is now comprised of just two injection-molded halves. Further, the design freedom of Valox resin made it possible to improve the cleanability of the housing by eliminating holes and hard-to-reach areas – an important consideration in healthcare environments.

In addition, because GE was able to provide an exact color match, the Valox resin components do not require a costly secondary painting step.

For the reflector, Ultem 1000 resin improved faceting of the part and positioning of the light source, and enables assembly elements and fixture points to be molded in instead of added on later, reducing cycle times. Further, the material is ready for primerless aluminum metallization without pre-treatment.

The replacement of aluminum with Ultem 1000 resin has significantly reduced the amount of heat reflected onto the patient and into the exam room by the Merilux lamp. GE technology has achieved an effect called “cold mirror” reflection. Reflectors made with Ultem resin, in combination with appropriate metallized coating, separate useful light from hot infrared radiation to help keep patients comfortable while giving clinicians excellent illumination. In addition, cold mirror reflection disperses the light more evenly, avoiding “hot spots” in the operating or exam room.

Because both the housing and reflector are molded from GE resins instead of metal, the lamp stays cooler to the touch – the surface temperature is now up to 20 degrees lower than with the previous metal components. Still another benefit of GE resins vs. metal is weight reduction. Thinner-wall reflectors and lighter housings make the Merilux lamps easier to transport and adjust.

Concluded Niemenen, “GE Plastics addressed all our challenges with a combination of exceptional resin technology and value-added services. GE helped us improve the design, performance, precision, and maintenance of our lamps while reducing overall costs for a competitive advantage. But most important, with GE materials, we can better support our mission of improving patient care.”

Details at: www.merivaara.com.