Lighting the Way: Why Dr. Josh Mezrich Took the Light Off His Head

“I hated wearing a headlight.”

That’s how MezLight began—not with a product spec sheet or market analysis, but with a transplant surgeon fed up with the pain, distraction, and physical strain from wearing a headlight.

Dr. Josh Mezrich, Professor of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin and surgical director of the living donor kidney program, had a vision (pun intended): to create a sterile surgical task light that could give surgeons high-definition illumination—without being strapped to their heads.

Defining the Problem

Surgeons endure long hours under the lights, but the lights themselves aren’t always on our side. “The issue wasn’t just discomfort,” Dr. Mezrich says. “It was how the limitations of headlights and overhead lighting could affect the surgeon and the surgery.”

Josh began by defining an equation of core features for his ideal surgical task light:

Bright, focused illumination like a headlight, but not on your head.

Flexible to allow for illumination of the surgical site not achievable with overheads.

Sterile so the surgeon could control their own lighting.

Could not change how surgeons operate or get in their way.

“Surgeons are athletes. We need tools that support our longevity.”

Creating the MezLight

Dozens of early prototypes were created to allow the team to gather surgeon feedback and refine the concept. The idea evolved from 100% disposable to 100% reusable, all while keeping the core features intact. Creating a light that could survive repeated sterilization cycles in the harsh autoclave environment was not simple - electronics don’t like heat or humidity.

As the design evolved, so did the mission: give surgeons a precision instrument of illumination that respects their craft—and provides an ergonomically superior solution to the headlight.

The first manufacturing ready version of the MezLight faithfully replicated headlight performance in lab tests but it’s brightness proved to be inadequate in many real surgical scenarios. Learning from this the team revised the design with greatly increased brightness, improved CRI, and a larger spot size. This significantly improved illumination performance while also expanding the range of surgical procedures that could benefit from the MezLight.

Real World Results

Evaluations in the OR proved that the new design offered a superior task lighting solution to the headlight and effectively addressed the shortcomings of the overheads. Surgeon feedback confirmed that the MezLight offered a real solution for improving surgical ergonomics.

“My fellow’s neck and my neck don’t hurt like when we use headlights”

“I think adoption is critically important for surgeon ergonomics”

Evaluators also noted improved visualization of the surgical site with the added benefit of control over their lighting because the MezLight is sterile.

“I’ve never seen the site as clearly as I did today”

“I can easily adjust it with my own hands”

Beyond the Light

Today MezLight is a fully realized Class II medical device. While the overwhelmingly positive reception of this new light is exciting, it’s the potential contribution to improving surgical ergonomics and helping surgeons operate better which propels Josh and the MezLight team forward.

Want to hear the full story?

Josh tells it best.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

Interested in evaluating MezLight in your OR?

Let’s talk.