Healthcare Gets Big Boost from High Def
As a higher percentage of surgery is being conducted via laparoscopic camera, the need for more high definition technology in the surgical suite increases. Today’s doctor, conducting surgery via a small camera, must be able to see as much as possible in the highest possible resolution known.
It only makes sense that if we demand clear and crisp images watching football games in HD, skilled surgeon are now demanding HD-quality images to help them do better in the operating room.
Today’s modern surgical suite contains a multitude of large HD monitors, test cameras and recording devices. The presence of such HD technology helps surgeons doing minimally invasive surgery like gallbladder removal, knee surgery, appendix removal, and even hysterectomy. The presence of this cutting-edge technology means a safer surgery and an improved patient experience.
Perhaps the biggest positive for patients is the rise in laparoscopic surgeries, and the use of HD technology, is a faster recovery time for the patient. Because the surgeon can be more precise, thanks to the HD cameras and monitors, the chances of errors or miscalculations are greatly reduced. Since the use of the technology has taken foot, more and more surgeries are done via small cameras and, for most surgery, the recovery time has been cut in half.
In addition to using HD in the surgical suite, several other new HD technologies are also changing the way medicine is practiced today.
Incredibly, a Norwegian research group recently conducted tests on an HD capsule that can be swallowed by a patient, which transmits live video back to HD monitors. The small camera, using image compression, can transmit up to 30 frames per second giving doctors a live look inside the patient without any surgery. Although still experimental, tests since 2004 in Japan and now Norway show promise. They may be the world’s smallest HD cameras, but the possibility of sending HD images live from inside the human body would change medicine forever.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati