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M O N T H 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
which required
hanging the
heavy and
bulky camera
from the ceil-
ing by a
makeshift rig.
The blend of
movie and sur-
gical technolo-
gy was rudi-
mentary at
best.
"We performed surgery with regular cameras, paused the procedure, switched
cameras and filmed through the laparoscope with the ultra HD rig," says Dr.
Palter. "We then waited on pins and needles." Back then you couldn't view 4K
images on monitors or computers, so Dr. Palter and the post-production experts
headed to a Manhattan studio to produce a 4K digital movie of the surgery. It
worked. "We showed you could capture 4K images," says Dr. Palter, "and we
proved the images are better than conventional HD."
Clinically, he proved 4K provides better color fidelity, better fine detail and
potentially allows for magnifying images tenfold without losing resolution.
The practical benefit to surgeons is still unproven, according to Dr. Palter. The
potential? "I can imagine the possibilities," he says. "You could blow surgical
images up so they could be shown on a screen the size of an entire OR wall and
not lose resolution. If you're working off a monitor, you could have the image
blown up five- or tenfold to work on structural details you couldn't see with
your naked eye."
Image magnification and enhancement haven't yet been done in practice, but
both could transform surgery. "You're going to need new tools, perhaps robotic
V I S U A L I Z A T I O N
DOC HOLLYWOOD
Steven Palter, MD, is on a
mission to bring 4K to the OR.
Adam
Cooper,
RBP,
FBCA
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