How Lighting Affects Performance, Fatigue, and Musculoskeletal Health in the Operating Room with Visual Ergonomist Dr. Hillevi Hemphala

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Sunoptic Surgical. You can learn about them and schedule a demo via   https://sunopticsurgical.com/surgicalergonomics/Disclosure: Sunoptic Surgical is a paid sponsor and the affiliate link above supports the podcast at no cost to you. When we think about surgical ergonomics, we often focus on posture, equipment, and operating room setup. But what if one of the biggest contributors to fatigue, performance, and musculoskeletal strain is something we rarely consider—the visual environment?In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Hillevi Hemphälä Assistant Professor at Lund University and one of the world's leading experts in visual ergonomics. Drawing on her unique background as both an optometrist and lighting designer, she explains how lighting influences not only what we see, but how we perform, feel, and function in the operating room.In this episode, you'll learn:Dr. Hemphälä's journey from optometrist to visual ergonomics researcher led her to uncover the important relationship between lighting, performance, and musculoskeletal health.Why poor operating room lighting affects more than visual comfort—and how glare and excessive brightness may contribute to fatigue, workflow challenges, and patient safety.The fascinating research demonstrating that eye strain is associated with increased neck and shoulder muscle activity, providing another pathway by which poor visual environments may contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.Why "more light" isn't always better, including the surprising finding that healthcare workers may require up to two minutes to fully recover visual performance after exposure to excessively bright surgical lighting.Practical recommendations for improving lighting in both open and minimally invasive operating rooms, including strategies that healthcare organizations can implement to create safer and more ergonomic work environments.Simple techniques you can use to identify glare and problematic LED flicker in your own office or workspace, and what to do about it.Articles referenced:Visual Ergonomics in Open surgery: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1477153520903355VERAM https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-74605-6_92Dr. Hemphala thanks the Bertil och Britt Svenssons Stiftelse för Belysningsteknik (Bertil and Britt Svensson’s Foundation for Illumination Technology) for financial support.Follow Surgical Ergonomics on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube please reach out to us if you have any suggestions regarding episode ideas and guests or if you'd like to be a guest on the podcastIf you found this episode valuable, please share it with a colleague or your perioperative team to help bring greater awareness to the role of ergonomics in career longevity. If you're enjoying the podcast, I'd be grateful if you left a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your reviews help others discover the show and support our mission of improving the health and longevity of surgeons and proceduralists worldwide.