North American lighting leader OSRAM SYLVANIA has been recognized with a prestigious R&D 100 Award for the new OSRAM ITOS® PHASER® 3000, the industry’s first laser and LED-based white light module for microscopy, endoscopy and surgical head lamps that delivers the same brightness as 300W Xenon lamps with significantly higher efficacy and lamp life.

“We’re honored to be recognized by R&D Magazine as one of the most innovative new technologies of the past year,” said Andreas Osten, medical business manager, OSRAM SYLVANIA.  “True to the nature of the award, the OSRAM ITOS PHASER 3000 is a disruptive innovation that outperforms today’s LED technologies and will transform the endoscopy and microscopy market.”

OSRAM ITOS® PHASER® 3000. (LEDinside/Osram)

The ITOS PHASER 3000 generates non-modulated white light by exciting a pin-point sized area of stationary phosphor using a focused bundle of high powered blue laser diodes.  This phosphor converts the blue laser light into yellow light with very high luminance. Further down the optical path, yellow light is mixed with the light of a blue LED, resulting in powerful, constant white light output.  Typically driven at only 80 percent of its technical capability, the PHASER technology offers up to three times more light than today’s common LED products at the tip of an endoscope used for minimally invasive surgeries.  

The ITOS PHASER 3000 module is optimized for integration into various medical and industrial light sources using fibers with about 5 mm in diameter and offers a lifetime expectancy of up to 30,000 hours, which is a lifetime rating of up to 60 times longer than conventional Xenon lamps.  Emitting no ultraviolet or infrared light reduces the impact to a patient’s tissues and generates significantly less heat, resulting in less cooling needed compared to Xenon lamps. 

While the ITOS PHASER 3000 light module is particularly suited for endoscopy, microscopy and other related healthcare and life science applications, the high-brightness light source is also ideal for industrial and manufacturing applications such as engine and turbine inspection, or any application where a high amount of light needs to be funneled into an optical system with a very tight etendue.

The R&D 100 Awards is an international competition that recognizes the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year across a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, optics, high-energy physics, materials science, chemistry and biotechnology.  For more information about the OSRAM ITOS PHASER 3000 and other specialty lighting innovations from OSRAM SYLVANIA, visit www.osram-americas.com/ITOS.