Innovative new technologies in light and lighting technology open up a huge range of possibilities for the development of dental treatment lights.
Energy- and space-saving LED technology offers options that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago.
KaVo’s master of light is André Hackel. He knows everything there is to know about the latest lighting trends and technologies, not to mention the possibilities for dental treatment lights and their practical uses.
We asked KaVo’s lead developer about the future of light and KaVo’s latest innovation, the KaVo Lumina treatment light.
Mr Hackel, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. I’d like to start with a personal question: what interests you so much about light?
AH: That’s a very complex question, bordering on the philosophical! Light is a basic prerequisite for all life on earth – without light, there would be no life.
Light doesn’t just allow us to see – it does so much more. To name but a few examples, it influences our mood, determines our circadian rhythm and, according to the latest studies, it probably has a positive influence on wound healing.
There’s a reason why so much research is being carried out in this field. Ultimately, I think it’s the sum total of everything – the overall spectrum of light, as it were – that thrills and fascinates me.
What first sparked your enthusiasm for light?
AH: I studied electrical engineering, specialising in medical technology. The subject of light came into my life rather by chance, through my work on the DIAGNOcam, which detects caries using transillumination.
It gripped me from the very first moment and has stayed with me ever since. After that, light increasingly became the focus of my professional work at KaVo. These days, I invest a lot of time in light-related matters. In addition to my day-to-day work, I take part in international congresses and am involved in standardisation committees.
Light is essential for working in a dental practice. But let’s be honest: is there really anything worth improving in this area?
AH: Yes, there certainly is! The KaVoLUX 540 LED is one of the most popular and technically sophisticated treatment lights in the KaVo range, but there’s still scope for technical innovations and developments that can improve processes and maximise possibilities. I take the view that there’s basically nothing that cannot be improved. There’s a lot of ongoing research on the subject of light, which is always turning up new and sometimes exciting findings.
It’s wonderful to be able to transform these into useful innovations and new products. Even if there are already good solutions out there, KaVo always makes sure that its new products are not only better in every respect, but also offer real, tangible added value for users and patients alike. We apply tried and tested methods to make good things even better in every way that we can – technologically, visually and ergonomically. That’s the KaVo way.
That all sounds very promising for the new KaVo Lumina. What does the development process for a new treatment light look like?
AH: The KaVo Lumina was developed through teamwork. Five of my colleagues from Development were also involved in the project and contributed their expertise from the fields of design, electronics, software and mechanical and thermal simulation.
We started by coming up with a number of possible conceptual approaches and conducted initial interviews with dentists. From there, we progressed step by step to the final product, which we considered to be the optimal result. During early development, I spent a lot of time shadowing dentists during treatments to find out and understand the various pain points and potential for improvement in the area of lighting.
What do dentists see? What can they not see? How do they move? I also took a close look at specific issues, such as how long dentists actually work with or on light-curing composites and how long the curing of the resin can be delayed. What could dentists see if the working field were better illuminated?
That kind of hands-on observation sounds very time-consuming. Why do you consider it to be so important?
AH: Yes, it is a laborious process. Examining all the issues that come up in dental practices takes lots of time and effort. But that’s the only way that we can improve our products in a way that will truly benefit dental practices. Through targeted observation, I spot key details that even users may not notice themselves, perhaps because they have already unconsciously adapted to the conditions. As a silent observer, I can see exactly when a dentist is stooping or has to strain their body to perform a task. This may be due to less than ideal lighting in the work area and can quickly lead to fatigue.
These kinds of details provide possible starting points for improvement. We follow through on these until we can present a product that meets our standards of excellence. In terms of ergonomics and light quality, and especially in terms of the light field and other details, the Lumina is probably the best and most innovative product that the market currently has to offer.
That brings me to my next question: what do you consider to be the key highlights of the new KaVo Lumina?
AH: I’d find it almost impossible to come up with an answer to that. I can’t boil the Lumina down to one or two highlights. The key thing is that it combines multiple innovations – the new SPAlight mode, the UX Light Technology and the many ergonomic improvements that make it so unique.
So I’d say that the biggest highlight is the user experience. The Lumina team put this at the forefront from the start.
Can you tell me about the aspects of the user experience that you examined?
AH: Of course. For example, I posed general questions, such as: What is it like to carry out precision work with unnatural light on a daily basis? What effect do light and its spectrum have on users and patients? How could physical and potential psychological stresses be reduced or optimised by new solutions? This gave rise to more specific questions, such as: Can an optimally illuminated field of vision make work easier, whether directly or indirectly? Or could it even improve the quality of the treatment result?
Presumably, these questions all relate to real, practical challenges that you have resolved with the new KaVo Lumina?
AH: Exactly. To give one example, the distance between the light and the work area is often less than optimal. This results in either poor illumination of the work area or means that the dentist adopts an unergonomic working posture to counteract poor visibility.
In other cases, limited contrast sharpness in composite mode creates unnecessary difficulties when trying to work precisely with a composite, and can soon lead to tiredness.
Reflections off the anterior teeth can dazzle the dentist and cause them to reposition the treatment light immediately. Glare stresses the dentist’s eyes and repositioning the light strains their muscles – both of which lead to faster fatigue.
Ergonomics was one of our most important areas of focus when developing the Lumina. We wanted users to be able to position the treatment light as quickly, easily and precisely as possible, with the least possible effort, so that treatment can be carried out efficiently and ergonomically in every situation.
Of course, the light itself is also an extremely important feature: the spectrum of the treatment light must be as close as possible to the quality of the natural light spectrum, as this is crucial in the level of detail that dentists can see.
There are a lot of specific things to consider.
How do you manage to incorporate all of them when developing a new product?
AH: Well, I’ve been accused of perfectionism before. But joking aside, we have a great team at KaVo and we deliberately gave ourselves a lot of time.
We used that time to really understand the challenges and then to test various solutions and concepts in order to work out the best approach. And, as I already explained, we maintained our focus on the user experience throughout.
This user experience-focused approach to development is where the term UX Light Technology comes from, isn’t it?
AH: Yes. The UX approach is crucial for our entire product development strategy. At KaVo, we don’t develop products for ourselves, but for our customers and their patients. I find it so gratifying and rewarding when I learn that a dentist is not only satisfied with a product that we have developed at KaVo – my life’s work – but that they really enjoy using it. Perhaps it even brings a smile to their face! That’s the biggest compliment of all. And I get a genuine thrill every time I see our new Lumina light up. I think it’s a truly striking piece of technology.
That sounds like a real leap forward in development. How exactly did you achieve this?
AH: The key thing was combining the innovative single-optical system with the Lumina’s unique collimator. This meant optimally adapting the geometry of the light field to the prevailing intraoral conditions. Essentially, the teeth in the oral cavity are not all at the same level.
The oral cavity has different depths from the anterior region to the molars, and therefore different levels at which work must be carried out. Up until now, light did not always reach all depths at the same quality. Sometimes it was strongly reflected by the teeth, dazzling the dentist. We definitely wanted to improve upon that. Glare and sharp light edges with intense light-dark contrasts tire the eyes. We’ve been able to counteract this with the new, gently tapering light field and the UX Light Technology of the Lumina.
The Lumina has a wider light field with a sharp upper edge so as not to dazzle the patient. The new single-optic system also allows the treatment light to be positioned more freely.
Besides the UX Light Technology, there are a couple of other ingenious new modes. What are they?
AH: There’s the new COMPOshape mode and the SPAlight.
What’s special about the COMPOshape mode?
AH: In a nutshell, the new light spectrum. The COMPOshape mode offers a warm white light comparable to the light colour spectrum shortly before sunset. Despite the reduced blue component, it offers a very good contrast display. For the user, this means ensuring the ideal balance of sufficient time to work on the composite and the best possible light and contrast conditions for precision working.
In the new COMPOshape mode, details and structures of the teeth can be seen clearly and the composite colour can be better matched to the adjacent teeth directly during application and adjusted or corrected if necessary. The new near-natural light spectrum also facilitates more relaxed working.
How about SPAlight? The name alone makes you curious. So what’s it all about?
AH: When developing SPAlight, we looked at colour psychology and the possibilities it offers in everyday life. The changing colour spectrum creates a lighting mood of calm, harmony and serenity.
It calms and relaxes the patient and is visually appealing in its own right. It can be activated in standby mode – before treatment begins – and is a great feature for all patients, not only those who are anxious. In general, SPAlight creates a pleasant atmosphere around the treatment chair.
We all know that good things come in threes. Can you tell us a little more about the Laser mode?
AH: The Lumina’s UX Light Technology offers constant, pulse-free light at a colour temperature equivalent to daylight, eliminating the need for a laser mode. High-resolution images are now possible in normal light mode – even with a smartphone. It also assists work with the popular DIAGNOdent Pen and lasers with a feedback system.
It sounds as though you’ve optimised absolutely everything that was technically possible. But the Lumina also boasts a sleek, striking appearance. When it came to the design, did you have a specific vision?
AH: Of course we did. Design is an essential part of every product at KaVo. In our new approach to design, we’ve moved away from multiple spotlights towards a modern, screen-like look. The aim was to come up with a clean, pared-back design. We wanted to get rid of anything superfluous and focus solely only on the essentials to create an ambience of calm, elegance and lightness.
The treatment light is a vital, eye-catching element in any dental unit. It’s always there and in use during every treatment. That’s why the design itself should spark joy. With the KaVo Lumina, I think we’ve succeeded in creating an elegant, timeless design that, incidentally, fits in perfectly with the KaVo uniQa and future KaVo models. And it’s ergonomically outstanding to boot. In other words, it’s typically KaVo.
And then there's the special handle design! Tell us more about that.
AH: That’s actually one of my favourite design features. The shape of the KaVo Lumina handles is inspired by Japanese knife handles. In Japan, there are over ten different handle shapes for high-quality chefs’ knives, and each has its own particular advantages.
After reproducing and testing the different handle versions, we opted for the “chestnut” shape.
The new sensor control also plays an important role in the ergonomic design. What improvements have been made?
AH: Our main aim was to refine the gesture control so that it reacts even faster, more precisely and more sensitively. But this created a new problem: how could we achieve this without the sensors being visible from the outside?
To resolve the issue, we placed the sensor-activated area in the centre of the treatment light, out of sight behind the optics. The functionality is superb. Another ergonomic highlight is the ease of positioning.
Thank you for this fascinating insight into your work! Last but not least, can you tell us about the user and application that were at the forefront of your mind when developing the new KaVo Lumina?
AH: I believe that the new Lumina offers something special for every dentist. That depends on their specific focus and needs. We’re all so different! A dentist who works a lot in the aesthetic field may consider the COMPOshape mode to be the highlight. For someone else, it may be the sophisticated ergonomics, the light spectrum, the cool design or the SPAlight, which allows them to indulge their patient, or another great feature!
Thank you for talking to us, Mr Hackel!
