Remote Rig for Filming Open Surgery
Remote rig in use during an operation. Photo by Øystein Horgmo, Creative Commons.
A couple of years ago I decided to make my own remote rig for filming open surgery. For a lot of operations in the abdomen and deep in the pelvis, the commercially available equipment could not provide the access I wanted. Designed by me and built at the hospital’s own instrument shop, the rig provides an excellent view of the surgical field and less strain on the cameraman.
The Rig
The idea was to build a rig that could place the camera directly above the field, totally independent of the surgical lights. I also wanted it to be mobile, so I could use it in different ORs. It had to be built to be electrically safe and easy to wash and disinfect.
The rig was designed like a “gallows”, with the camera placed on the tip of a horizontal boom that extends from a vertical stand. This rests on a heavy Thomson Lifting Column, which both provides a low center of gravity and makes it possible to raise the rig 40 cm. Four anti-static wheels makes it easy to move the rig using four handles placed on the stand and boom. A padded ring is placed around the camera, to protect it from bumps and make it easier to place a sterile drape around it. All the wiring is placed inside the rig; video- and remote cables from the camera and power to the camera and lifting column. The power is turned on/off with a switch on a junction box at the bottom of the rig. The lifting column is operated with a foot switch placed on the same box.
Photo by Øystein Horgmo, Creative Commons.
The rig is made of hollow aluminium tubes, and as the camera is also quite light, the rig does not have to be very large at the base. This makes it possible to place the rig virtually anywhere around the operating table, and very close to the personnel. The boom is long enough to reach the middle of the table, even if the rig is placed at the feet end.
The Camera
I chose to use the Sony BRC-300 3 CCD SD camera on the rig. It provides high-quality images, has a pan range of 340° and a 120° tilt range. It can record video in both 4:3 and 16:9 formats, and you can fit it with different output modules (S-video, SDI, Firewire etc.).
Sony BRC-300. Photo by Øystein Horgmo, Creative Commons.
Most important, however, is that it is remote-controlled. A remote control with all the important features (such as focus, aperture, pan, tilt and zoom) is attached to the camera with a RS-232 cable. To make it possible to control the camera while staying out-of-the-way of the OR team, I fitted a plastic hardcase as a remote control unit. It contains the remote control, a hard disk video recorder and a 7″ LCD monitor. With this arrangement the rig can stay in the operating ward, while I bring the case back to the office to transfer the material to the editing station. I normally place the case on a small table close to the wall, where I’m out-of-the-way. Although the camera in theory could be controlled from another room, I prefer to be close to the action where I can talk to the surgeons and make adjustments to the rig placement.
Remote hardcase with remote control (left, outside case), HDD recorder and LCD monitor. Photo by Øystein Horgmo, Creative Commons.
After using this rig for two years, I can see some points that could be improved to deliver even higher quality video. It could be fitted with a HD camera, and a recorder with less compression. I have been recording in the DV format, mostly because HDD recorders for better formats (e.g. DVCPro50) where too expensive for my budget. But beside these technical considerations, the rig is as good as it gets when it comes to surgical field access and versatility of placement, in my opinion.
Check out some videos recorded with the rig (Norwegian voice overs):
December 28, 2009 at 15:58
Really nice!