Portable surgical microscope moved cleanly

iglidur plain bearings score with lubrication-free operation, and savings in installation space and weight

Winner of the golden manus award 2025: Surgical microscopes are brought to hospitals in the Global South at great expense in terms of ideas and money. Sooner or later, however, they end up sitting unused in the corner. There are many reasons for this, often because the devices are becoming increasingly complex and even minor repairs cannot be carried out due to a lack of expertise or spare parts. In addition, these microscopes are bulky and heavy, which makes transport to and within the country considerably more difficult. As a result, rural regions are usually not supplied because many people live spread out over large areas or on islands and cannot afford to travel hundreds of kilometres to the nearest clinic.

Prechtl TechSolutions is addressing this shortcoming with its mobile lightweight surgical microscope, which is easily transportable and can withstand the given conditions on site. This is made possible by a greatly simplified but robust design, independence from the power supply, ease of operation and, if necessary, problem-free repair options with spare parts available worldwide. Smooth movement in the tripod joints is ensured by iglidur plain bearings.

Surgical microscope from Prechtl TechSolutions

Profile

What was needed: Plain bearings in various pivot points of the microscope stand, thrust washers in the locking mechanism

Requirements: Low coefficient of friction, lubrication-free, maintenance-free, chemical resistance, low thermal elongation, low total moisture absorption, mould resistance, durability

Industry: Medical technology

Success for the customer: Lubrication-free plain bearings and thrust washers made of iglidur G material reduce maintenance costs and make the application hygienically safe, as no lubricants can escape. They also save installation space and weight compared to the previously used rolling bearings.

Problem

The microscope is primarily used by ophthalmologists worldwide for cataract surgery. It enables the disease, by far the most common cause of blindness worldwide, to be surgically removed relatively easily and helps people to regain their sight.

The microscope stand is a multi-jointed, manually moved arm system in which all the main joints are equipped with rotary bearings. Both radial and radial-axial bearings are required here.

In addition, the parallelogram arms require bearings at their joints and an internal guide for the clamping baffle plate.

Due to the required smooth running properties, only rolling bearings were used originally. However, as these take up a lot of installation space and are relatively heavy, the developers looked for a more compact, lighter alternative. Metallic plain bearings were ruled out due to their repeated need for lubrication and the resulting risk of contamination.

Solution

Installation space, cost and maintenance considerations clearly favoured our plastic bearings made from iglidur G, the all-round material with very good friction coefficients.

Cylindrical iglidur G plain bearings are used in the main joints, where they not only fulfil bearing functions but also enable the joint to be clamped due to the local radial pressure on the bearing. In addition, larger flanged bushings are also installed as radial/thrust bearings in the main joints.

Smaller flanged bushings allow direct integration into the sheet metal components of the parallelogram arm without additional bearing mounting parts. They also offer the option of using commercially available hinge pins instead of expensive production parts.

An iglidur G thrust washer is used to lock the parallelogram arm.

The advantages of plastic bearings in terms of space requirements, price, installation effort, freedom from maintenance and hygiene more than compensate for the minimal loss of smoothness.