New pocket LED diagnostic sets from Welch Allyn

Exactly 100 years since Welch Allyn invented the world’s first self-illuminating hand-held ophthalmoscope, the company has launched a new Pocket LED set - proof of their continuing ability to keep pushing the boundaries with a winning combination of customer-pleasing quality, reliability and cutting edge technology.

Now, medical professionals buying the company’s new pocket LED otoscopes and ophthalmoscopes can also enjoy a new, thoroughly 21st century feature: the ability to personalise their instruments with mix and match accessories in a choice of four colours - pink, white, blue and black - allowing clinicians to distinguish themselves - and their devices - from colleagues’.

However, there is more to these funky tools than just looks. The sets are also the only drop-proof tested pocket devices on the market, while the coloured accessories also serve as defensive bumpers, making them ideal for medics on the move as they travel from patient to patient.

The new instruments can be purchased individually or as a set, and are available in two configurations – Pocket LED and Pocket Plus LED.

The ophthalmoscope offers a dioptre range of -20 to +20 and 7 apertures, and the otoscope a 2.5 x magnification and insufflation port.

Aimed at every medical professional in need of guaranteed quality but at an affordable price, with an RRP of £180, the Pocket LED sets offer an exceptionally pleasing, ergonomic design which fits comfortably in the hand. They are also the only pocket sets to offer advanced SureColor LED technology - patented by Welch Allyn - which provides true tissue colour rendition, thus aiding optimal first time diagnosis.

The product is also the lightest two-battery set on the market, as well as being long lasting in terms of battery life, with LED bulbs rated for up to 20,000 hours of use.

In the end, it is all about meeting – and exceeding - the needs of customers, explains Karin Feit, Category Manager at Welch Allyn. ‘Customisation is an increasingly widespread phenomenon amongst consumers, who can now opt for everything from cola bottles to trainers to be tailored to their needs. But while our customers may demand ever more personalisation, and we also know that they expect the highest quality from our devices. What we have delivered does all this, and more.’

While ophthalmoscopes and otoscopes are amongst Welch Allyn’s heritage products, these new products combine the best of its tried and tested qualities with a new approach to design with the Pocket LED format and range of configurations ensuring maximum flexibility.

‘Busy health professionals have relied on our hand held ophthalmoscopes and otoscopes for decades,’ says Jan McMeekin, Regional Manager Northern Europe. ‘The initial response we’ve had indicates that these highly portable new products are likely to prove as much of a hit with this next, increasingly mobile generation.’

Welch Allyn

Since its foundation 100 years ago next year, Welch Allyn has been associated with innovative, ground-breaking medical devices that help health professionals in hospitals and surgeries round the world improve the lives of their patients.

The company’s priority is to improve patient safety and maximise caregivers’ effectiveness by harnessing technology, which is both cutting edge and reliable, thus minimising downtime and ensuring maximum accuracy in assessment and diagnosis.  A focus on future proofing and rugged construction also ensures that product lifespan and compatibility are second to none.

While Welch Allyn’s extensive product range spans everything from lighting to defibrillation, the company is best known for its top selling and technologically advanced vital signs monitoring equipment, most recently including measurement of CO2 levels, which allows detection of the smallest signs of patient deterioration to be swiftly communicated and acted on.

Imagination and determination characterised the development of the company’s first product - a hand held ophthalmoscope - in 1915. They are qualities that underpin the company’s ethos almost a century later, making Welch Allyn the preferred choice for hard-pressed, budget-conscious health professionals in the UK and worldwide.

Welch Allyn are a privately-held, family-owned manufacturer of medical devices, products and solutions used by caregivers in doctors' offices, hospitals, and emergency response settings around the world.