Surgical microscope captures 'red dot design award'

Jena, Germany

-A surgical microscope (OPMI Lumera 700, Carl Zeiss Meditec) has received a "red dot design award" in product design from a 30-member international jury of the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, Essen, Germany.

The award recognizes design conception, innovativeness, functionality, quality, ease of use, and longevity, according to the company.

Overall, designers and companies from 57 countries participated in the 2010 competition, submitting a total of 4,252 entries in the product design category. Awards will be presented July 5 in the Essen Aalto Theater, after which the winning entries will be exhibited for four weeks at the red dot design museum in Zollverein, Germany.

"All products that received the 'red dot design award' had to convince a jury of international experts. These products stand out through their excellent designs and innovativeness, and were able to demonstrate their quality successfully in one of the toughest design contests in the world," said Peter Zec, PhD, president of red dot GmbH & Co. KG. and initiator of the award.

Notable features of the microscope, according to Carl Zeiss Meditec, are its stereo coaxial illumination technology, fundus viewing system, overall optical quality, and integration of functions; the enclosing of all potentially obstructive or interfering factors such as cables; and its ability to communicate with other systems.