Method and apparatus for improved eye-hand co-ordination during videoscopic surgery

A method for relaying a three-dimensional view of an operative field to an observer during a surgical procedure carried out by said observer comprising:

• spacing a first and a second viewpoint so that a line joining the viewpoints subtends a first angle at an operative point within the operative field, the first angle lying within a range of three degrees to sixteen degrees;
• acquiring a first image of the operative field from the first viewpoint and a second image of the operative field from the second viewpoint;
• simultaneously displaying at a plane a first relayed image of the operative field acquired from the first viewpoint for viewing by the left eye of the observer and, co-located at the plane, a second relayed image of the operative field acquired from the second viewpoint for viewing by the right eye of the observer;
• positioning the plane at a distance from the observer so that, in use, a line joining the two eyes of the observer subtends a second angle at a point on the plane which lies in the range of three degrees to sixteen degrees;
• and
• adjusting the brightness of the first and second images to exceed 200 candela per square meter.