Getinge’s new horizontal ceiling supply unit, Maquet Moduevo Bridge, is equipped with an innovative Somnus light feature that help critical care patients sleep better in rooms without windows by keeping the biological clock in sync.
“Patients in intensive care units without natural daylight are not exposed to the lights that help humans stay in biological rhythm, so the Somnus light replaces the daylight by using bluish tones to simulate morning and reddish tones to represent evening light,” says Cecilia Valteau, responsible for optical design at Getinge’s surgical light factory in Ardon, France.
Getinge’s innovative Somnus light is based on the work on Circadian Stimulus (CS) at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the United States.
The human circadian system can be described as a blue sky detector; helping us to wake up at sunrise and fall asleep when the sun sets. Circadian disruption may affect our physiological functions, neurobehavioral performance and sleep.
CS is a metric that quantifies light’s effect on the body’s production of melatonin; a hormone produced at night and in darkness,. CS ranges from 0.1 (no measurable melatonin suppression) to 0.7 (the maximum suppression observed).
“Using LRC’s recommendations, our Somnus light is providing variations of the light spectrum and illuminance between 7 am and 9 pm,” Cecilia explains. “At 7 am, bluish light and high illumination create a high CS that suppresses melatonin and ‘tells’ the patient that it is morning and time to be awake. A yellowish light and low illumination is used to create a low CS in the evening. The feature is turned off at night.
Clusters of blue, green, amber and red LEDs are at the core of Getinge’s technology. In addition, optics and a diffusor are used to ensure good quality light with the right shape.
The Somnus light is not the only feature focusing on the wellbeing of medical staff, patients and their visitors in the new Maquet Moduevo Bridge, which is suitable for intensive care and high-dependency care units, recovery and emergency departments.
Stephane Tabillon, Senior BD Manager High End Ceiling Devices OR at Getinge, says:
“Maquet Moduevo Bridge also contributes to a peaceful and healing environment by integrating up to six colors of ambient light. In addition, it comes with electromagnetic, quiet brakes.”
The Somnus light is the collective result of a close co-operation between Getinge’s Research and Development teams in Ardon, France, and Suzhou, China.