Imaging in the MI Surgical Practice...in High Definition

From Surgical recording to editing and presentation, Dr. Steven Palter, a leading reproductive endocrinologist, uses a broad range of Sony HD video products to capture the exquisite detail of minimally-invasive (MI) surgeries for colleagues, researchers, students and patients.

Dr. Palter is the Medical and Scientific Director of Gold Coast IVF in Syosset, N.Y., and the former Clinical Chief of Infertility at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Palter has spent his career on the cutting edge of surgical innovation, to help couples achieve pregnancy and to treat women's pelvic pathologies while preserving their fertility. For the skilled MI surgeon, image is vitally important, and Sony HD technology is at the forefront.

Sony's PDW-70MD XDCAM HD medical video recorder is a pioneering tool in Dr. Palter's O.R. It easily and precisely captures video images of surgeries in progress directly from an endoscopic camera and saves them to the device's large-capacity optical disc storage. "The PDW-70MD is the first ever medical-compliant true HD recorder," Dr. Palter comments. "It allows for the first time the ability to record HD endoscopic surgery in the same high definition that we observe in the O.R."

Because Dr. Palter's surgical recordings are often used for multiple digital media formats, starting out with the highest quality footage possible is essential. The XDCAM Professional Disc™ media for the PDW-70MD are sealed and provide a robust record mechanism that enables the HD video to be copied easily and without any degradation in the video signal. "Sony leverages their Blu-Ray technology to provide an HD recording solution that I can record, edit and process myself," he adds.

Once surgeries are completed, Dr. Palter digitally downloads his video to his Sony VAIO® laptop computer for editing with Sony's Vegas® Pro professional audio-video software. To transfer the images in real time, he relies on a Sony PDW-U1 XDCAM drive unit and maintains HD quality throughout the entire process.

"With Vegas software and this system, I can edit videos in my office better and faster than I could in a $50,000 studio just 10 years ago. The editing process for a complete surgical video typically takes less than an hour," he notes. The technology-savvy physician then stores his finished product on his hard drive or burns it to a DVD or Blu-Ray. He can even turn it into a streaming video for his website.

To share presentations with patients and other physicians in his office, the MI surgeon relies on the Sony LMD-2450MD HD monitor. The 24-inch medical-grade display delivers extremely high levels of brightness and high-contrast realistic images with unique color depth, and is optimized for medical environments.

As a nationally-known expert in his field, Dr. Palter also frequently takes his videos on the road for lectures, and his Sony portable HD projector VPL-FX40 travels with him. "When I lecture on technological innovations in medicine, an HD projector allows me to demonstrate the incredible images of HD surgery," he says. "The physicians and technical members of the audience are amazed that a portable projector and laptop surpass the installed systems at any of my lecture venues."

Recognized for his technological as well as medical expertise, this visionary MI surgeon recently collaborated with National Geographic Television on a highly acclaimed journey through the human body. Sony technology was an integral part of his ability to create what was probably the first high-quality HD surgical video presentation seen around the world.