Robust Design
Welch Allyn’s laryngoscope design uses a single piece of 304-series stainless steel as its load-bearing member. All competitive blades are constructed from multiple pieces of stainless steel or brass that are bonded together using a solder or braze. These solders or brazes are vulnerable to corrosion due to harsh conditions associated with many sterilization methods. This one-piece construction of the Welch Allyn blade is more robust than the typical competitive product. Furthermore, its one-piece blade construction eliminates the potentially weaker soldered or brazed joint.
Design Features
Welch Allyn’s innovative design incorporates an easy-to-remove light pipe that eliminates the difficult-toclean areas of most competitive laryngoscopes.
Another feature designed to help improve the cleaning of a Welch Allyn blade is its surface finish. Typical laryngoscope finishes have a surface roughness of 32μ in. The surface finish used on all Welch Allyn blades has a roughness of just 8μ in. This creates a surface texture that is approximately four times smoother than competitive blades, resulting in an easier-to-clean, stain-resistant laryngoscope blade. What’s more, the surface finish is not a plating, and therefore does not alter the 304-series stainless steel construction of the blade itself.
Brighter by Design
The Welch Allyn Halogen HPX lamp is the latest technology in gas-filled lamps. By filling the lamp with a high-pressure mixture of halogen and xenon gases, we have invented a miniature lamp that is more than 30% brighter and whiter than standard halogen lamps. Blades can be economically upgraded from lamp to fiber-optic illumination
More Value by Design
There are primarily two causes of reduced light transmission in fiber optic laryngoscopes: fiber optic breakage and epoxy blockage. Light degradation caused by fiber optic breakage will occur in varying degrees in any laryngoscope that is subjected to severe changes in temperature. Blades are repairable at a fraction of the cost of a replacement blade
Reduced Light Degradation
E-MacIntosh, or “English”-MacIntosh, blades are the most popular style of laryngoscope blade outside of the United States. It differs in several aspects from the MacIntosh. First, the curve of the E-Macs is more continuous from the proximal to distal end. This improves lifting mechanics. Second, overall length is increased to help assist intubation in patients with an anterior larynx. Finally, the profile or height of the instrument had been reduced for easier intubation in patients with limited oral access.
- Size 1: 95 mm Overall Length, 70 mm Length Inside Base to Tip
- Size 2: 116 mm Overall Length, 90 mm Length Inside Base to Tip
- Size 3: 135 mm Overall Length, 110 mm Length Inside Base to Tip
- Size 4: 156 mm Overall Length, 130 mm Length Inside Base to Tip
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