Developing more ergonomic OR lighting options with Dr. Joshua Mezrich

Dr. Josh Mezrich is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin and holds the Mark A. Fischer Chair in Transplantation.  His surgical interests include liver transplantation, kidney transplantation and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. He is the surgical director of the living donor kidney program. He runs a translational science lab investigating the role of the microbiome and serum biomarkers on organ quality in brain dead donors. He is the inventor and co-founder of the MezLight (www.mezlight.com), a sterile surgical task light designed to provide high-definition illumination of surgical fields and ease the physical burden on surgeons.

 Josh’s first book, When Death Becomes Life, was published by HarperCollins on January 15, 2019, and has sold in 12 countries outside the United States. His second book, Every Living Creature: How Xenotransplantation Will Change Our Lives, will be published in spring of 2026.

In this episode, Dr. Mezrich

- Discusses the issues with current lighting options in the OR and how they prompted his interest in inventing a new one

- Provides us with a list of attributes the wanted the new light to have, including not needing to be placed on the surgeon's head

- Describes his journey from the initial prototype of Mezlight to the currently available model

- Explains the challenges and opportunities faced by clinicians on an entrepreneurial journey

- Elaborates on his best practices for improved ergonomics in the OR including emphasizing the importance of microbreaks

Dr. Mezrich can be reached at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-mezrich-555498190/

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 podcast

If 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.