Different shades of red
November 28, 2007 § 6 Comments
When filming surgery, some special issues must be considered. One of those are the color red.
Because of the blood running through our body, most of our organs and tissue is some shade of red. To distinguish the different anatomical structures from each other it is crucial that the video system used is able to reproduce the colors accurately.
Pharmaceutical ice cream
November 23, 2007 § 3 Comments
I’m at a medical convention. Like most medical conventions it’s sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. A large hall is filled with stands from the different companies. Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, AstraZeneca, they’re all here. I’m not very often at conventions like this, and every time I’m puzzled by the pharmaceutical sales people. This is indeed a strange but varied way to make a living.
Judging by the sales people I’ve seen so far, these are some of tasks you’ll have to manage if you want to be a successful drug dealer: « Read the rest of this entry »
Surgical history
November 19, 2007 § Leave a comment
I’m very fascinated with surgery. When you spend a lot of time in operating rooms I guess you can’t help getting either nauseated or fascinated by the craft.
One of the most fascinating aspects of surgery is its history. Some of the operations that’s still around today, were also conducted several hundred years ago. One of the most ancients operations we know about is the removal of bladder stones. The oldest bladder stone specimen found is dated at about 4800 BC. « Read the rest of this entry »
Patient patients
November 17, 2007 § 2 Comments
In my current job almost all the videos we make are of actual patients undergoing cancer surgery and procedures used in diagnosing cancer . Before we can go ahead with a recording, the patient has to sign a paper stating her consent.
When I was initially briefed about the job, I thought this would be the project’s Achilles’ heel. Why would someone who’s about to get a cancerous tumor removed from their body agree to having a camera team present? Would any woman who’s getting her breasts scanned want the extra stress of being filmed? I imagined a lot of time would be spent searching for a patient who would say “yes”. « Read the rest of this entry »
Opening words
November 11, 2007 § 1 Comment
I’ve been working as a medical videographer for some years now. In many ways it is a lonely line of work. Not many people earn their money by making videos of medical and surgical procedures. Most can’t even stand the thought.
So why bother the web with a blog about it? « Read the rest of this entry »
The Sterile Eye 