Many researchers considered improvement of colour discrimination an important factor of surgery illumination, but none of them provided data on colour contrast estimation. The article describes the results of an extensive search of spectrum that are the most preferable for application in surgery equipment using selected light emitting diodes (LED) of different types. The search was not also based on the qualitative characteristics recommended by the standard, but also on a previously non-considered parameter: colour contrast between human tissues K estimated in uniform-chromaticity systems.
The programme developed in MATLAB environment allows to model the cumulative spectrum of a LED light source, to determine the proportions of LED radiation or crystals in LED providing the maximum value of LED general colour rendering index Ra at the set correlated colour temperature or the maximum value of averaged K in uniform-chromaticity systems both in presence of the limited Ra value of 85 and if there are no limitations. Such options of spectrum search allowed to evaluate the probability of K change and its maximum, as well as to identify three possible operating modes of surgery equipment when using the said LEDs. The first of them is following the existing recommendations for Ra with possible insignificant change of K, the second one is the priority of K assuming violation of the Ra recommendations to increase K, and the third option assumes switching between the modes if necessary. LED spectra are selected for such different modes. Other colour rendering indexes are also estimated, and the authors recommend using the new standard TM‑30–15 for standardisation of the colour rendering quality of light sources used in surgery luminaires. It is based on 99 samples and some of the tests have reflective properties close to those of human tissues.
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• general colour rendering index
• colour contrast
• biological tissues
• light emitting diodes
• LED luminaires