Most of the open surgical operative still pictures and videos are shot using a camera that gives a line of vision that is somewhat different from that of the operating surgeon. The line of vision of the surgeon is the best, because he chooses the best one to operate well. When I worked on an atlas of operative techniques, the camera was held behind and by the side of my left ear, and when the operative field was to be photographed, I would move to the right and the photographer would move the lens of the camera to where my eyes had been before taking a picture. I positioned the video camera at a suitable angle when I shot operative videos. But I remained dissatisfied. When I explained my requirement to my son, who is a software engineer, but also a gamer, he understood the need immediately. There is such a view when one plays 3D games.
"Get a good webcam and fix it to the forehead" he said. "That will give you the view you need. You will not be able to zoom, but otherwise it will be very good."
That was a brilliant idea. The main problem was finding a method of fixing it to the forehead. I asked my wife to lend me her ENT examination mirror. I fixed the camera to the head strap of the mirror and wore it around my head. The view was good, but the weight was too much. I returned the mirror and tried to think of another solution. Google glass was a theoretical option, but not very practical because it was not available in the market at home, and it was terribly costly anyway. A few days passed, and suddenly I had an idea. A 3D image of the idea is shown below.
I took a hat with a visor. It had an adjustment band at the back. I hooked the webcam in that band and wore the hat back to front. It was a little wobbly, because the band was not designed to take that extra weight. So I put a big rubber band around my head, passing over the handle of the webcam. It fitted perfectly, the angle of inclination could be adjusted as required, and the images were excellent. I shot with this assembly about 100 pictures of different instruments and surgical knots for a new book I am working on. It was a bit of a bother when both of my hands had to be in the picture. But there was no one to help. So I placed the laptop near my foot and clicked the left mouse button with my great toe when an image was to be captured. It worked like a charm, except that toe business. I suggest you get an assistant for that purpose, unless you are a Yoga expert and can bend your lower limb joints impossibly.
"Get a good webcam and fix it to the forehead" he said. "That will give you the view you need. You will not be able to zoom, but otherwise it will be very good."
That was a brilliant idea. The main problem was finding a method of fixing it to the forehead. I asked my wife to lend me her ENT examination mirror. I fixed the camera to the head strap of the mirror and wore it around my head. The view was good, but the weight was too much. I returned the mirror and tried to think of another solution. Google glass was a theoretical option, but not very practical because it was not available in the market at home, and it was terribly costly anyway. A few days passed, and suddenly I had an idea. A 3D image of the idea is shown below.
I took a hat with a visor. It had an adjustment band at the back. I hooked the webcam in that band and wore the hat back to front. It was a little wobbly, because the band was not designed to take that extra weight. So I put a big rubber band around my head, passing over the handle of the webcam. It fitted perfectly, the angle of inclination could be adjusted as required, and the images were excellent. I shot with this assembly about 100 pictures of different instruments and surgical knots for a new book I am working on. It was a bit of a bother when both of my hands had to be in the picture. But there was no one to help. So I placed the laptop near my foot and clicked the left mouse button with my great toe when an image was to be captured. It worked like a charm, except that toe business. I suggest you get an assistant for that purpose, unless you are a Yoga expert and can bend your lower limb joints impossibly.
