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Novel 3-D imaging system helps staff visualize, record surgical procedures
Improved visualization of the surgical field helps surgeons, staff perform complex maneuvers with increased certainty and safety, early adopter says.
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An advanced 3-D imaging technology has practical value in helping surgical teams operate with increased precision and record procedures for educational purposes, according to one proponent.
Sony Electronics demonstrated the medical-grade Sony 3-D imaging solution for ophthalmic surgery and neurosurgery at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting in San Francisco.
The system includes the MCC-3000MT 3-D camera, the HVO-3000MT 3-D video recorder and the 3-D display LMD-2451MT 24-inch LCD widescreen, high-definition monitor. The camera is compatible with various surgical microscopes, saving hospitals and surgical centers the expense of replacing their existing microscopes.
One early adopter, cataract surgeon Jacob Moore, MD, said the Sony 3-D imaging solution greatly enhances visualization of the surgical field.
“We’re mostly using it in the operating room. It’s a surgical tool,” Moore said. “Basically, it gives people who are not the surgeon a view that’s equivalent to what the surgeon sees. So, that makes the other people in the operating room more effective and maybe even makes them an extension of the surgeon’s hands.”
Haag-Streit USA announced in a press release that it will offer the 3-D suite with its line of surgical microscopes.
Intraoperative use
In the OR, the system enables staff to help surgeons perform painstaking suturing maneuvers in a safer, more coordinated manner, Moore said.
“That extra pair of hands is really helpful,” Moore said. “They can see what they’re doing, and we can see what they’re doing when they’re making a manipulation around the eye. With the 3-D system, you get very good visualization.”
The system also enables staff to see potential problems and intervene in a timely manner, Moore said.
“For example, let’s say we’re doing a cataract surgery. [Staff] might notice that my view is becoming more obscured because the cornea is drying out. They would know to irrigate the cornea, rather than me saying, ‘Hey, I need you to irrigate the cornea now, please,’” he said. “They can see what they can do to improve the visibility and exposure so that I’m more effective in the surgery.”
Patient counseling and education
The system is useful in creating surgical videos that can save time and enhance patients’ understanding of pathology and treatment, Moore said.
“I have the same conversation again and again about what a cataract is and how it comes out,” he said. “There are some animated tools that we have to help people understand the pathology … but to have a 3-D video gives people an intuitive understanding of what we’re doing. We’re in the process of taking footage for that right now and, ultimately, that’s going to be edited into a video that we can present to patients so they understand what’s happening.”
The system’s educational value was underscored by one case involving a patient who had a dislocated IOL that was sutured to the iris. Moore said he used a 3-D video of the lens implant in the patient’s eye to illustrate the complexity and potential risk of revising or replacing the IOL.
“She immediately understood what’s going on. She understands that she’s got a good system that she can live with,” Moore said. – by Matt Hasson