Sony 4K 3D Displays transform remote ophthalmological surgical training at Arena Surgery
Arena Surgery, Mediterranean Academy of Surgery in Catania, Italy, gives students and staff a 4K 3D view of procedures from the operating room to the lecture hall for training and education with LMD-XH550MT 55-inch surgical displays.
- The academy needed to upgrade its remote surgical training capability
- The previous 3D Display solution required a complex set-up of dual projectors with polarizing filters, screens and glasses
- Sony LMD-XH550MT 55-inch 4K 3D surgical displays, installed in the training suite and remote operating room
- Images captured by a surgical microscope in the OR can be viewed by surgical teams and students remotely
- High-quality 4K 3D view of surgical procedures in the OR for remote students
- Students in the training suite can watch procedures with lifelike depth and realism
- The ergonomic solution reduces back strain, allowing surgeons to perform multiple procedures comfortably and efficiently
We chose the LMD-XH550MT display as the only possible solution for its reliability, high-quality images and user-friendliness.
Prof. Marco Nardi, Scientific Director
Arena Surgery (Mediterranean Academy of Surgery)
Teaching the latest advances in ophthalmological surgery
Based in the Sicilian city of Catania, Arena Surgery (the Mediterranean Academy of Surgery) offers a wide range of training courses covering theoretical and practical aspects of ophthalmological surgery. Designed to support the teaching of safer, faster and higher quality ophthalmological treatments, multi-lingual courses are delivered at introductory, intermediate and advanced levels by an expert team of highly experienced surgeons and tutors.
Established in October 2023, the facility features a 10-station “wet lab” where students can practice surgical techniques in a hands-on environment. Focused on the latest teaching techniques, the academy also features a multimedia teaching room that’s linked to ten different operating rooms in Italian hospitals and universities.
Visualizing complex procedures for better surgical teaching
The academy’s telementoring capability allows groups of up to 20 students in the academy’s training room to view surgical procedures remotely, instead of being physically present in the operating room. As well as minimizing the risks of infection by having students in the OR during surgery, this remote approach also allows larger groups of students to be trained at another location without their presence distracting surgical teams as they work.
Watching procedures in 3D adds an extra dimension of realism and clarity, giving ophthalmology students an experience that’s closer to the surgeon’s own viewpoint. Until recently, Arena Surgery achieved this with a cumbersome and hard-to-manage system involving the use of two projectors equipped with polarizing filters and a polarized screen, with stereoscopic images viewed by students wearing circularly polarized glasses. However, the academy required a more efficient, reliable and easy-to-manage solution for providing students with a lifelike 3D impression of complex surgical procedures.
3D viewing provides extra depth and realism
Arena Surgery has recently upgraded its multimedia training facilities with the installation of two Sony LMD-XH550MT 3D surgical displays. Supplied by Milan-based surgical systems integrator IARVOMED, the 55-inch monitor is capable of displaying 4K Ultra HD images in 3D, with extremely high contrast and a peak brightness of more than 1,500 nits. Displayed 3D images on the monitor screen can be viewed by surgical staff, students and teaching staff wearing light, comfortable, passive polarization glasses.
The first LMD-XH550MT was installed in the operating room of the Distefano Velona Clinic. Connected to the video output of a ZEISS ARTEVO 800 microscope, it allows surgeons and other staff in the OR to view very high quality 3D images on the large-format display.
The second LMD-XH550MT display is wall-mounted in the academy’s training room, located 500 m from the operating room. Here, students and teaching staff can view exactly the same 3D images as those seen by surgical teams in the OR.
More comfortable, efficient task performance
As Professor Marco Nardi explains, many surgeons now prefer to see a “heads up” view on a large stereoscopic monitor screen, rather than looking down into the eyepiece of a binocular surgical microscope as they work. The LMD-XH550MT also offers a more comfortable and ergonomic solution for the surgeon, providing a more relaxed position to work for extended periods: “Your back suffers less when you’re not bending over – it’s an advantage for surgeons doing many procedures in one day.”
As Professor Nardi confirms, the task performance of surgical teams is further enhanced by the image size, resolution and exceptional quality of the Sony monitor: “The surgeon can work better, with a wide field of view, great image magnification and a very good sense of depth. As well giving a more panoramic view, it’s easier to show other people in the OR what you’re doing – so everyone can collaborate in a better way. The view on a conventional 2D monitor is not as useful as working in 3D. You can share what you are thinking with other people very well.”
Helping surgeons and students see every detail
The LMD-XH550MT offers advanced features to support surgeons and students of ophthalmology, providing a clear view of intricate surgical procedures in 3D.
Local Dimming Technology offers precise control over light and dark areas, with extremely natural, high-contrast images that provide students and surgical teams with an immersive viewing experience. The display’s advanced LCD panel and signal processing technology also support highly consistent, accurate reproduction of a wide color gamut, while the innovative panel design minimizes reflected glare in brightly lit ORs, including distracting reflections from surgical lights or artificial lighting in the training room.
Special functionality to support course teaching: A.I.M.E.™
Sony’s A.I.M.E. (Advanced Image Multiple Enhancer) technology can be optionally switched on to enhance displayed images, adjusting color, contrast and visibility of shadow areas to support accurate discernment of fine tissue structures. Using A.I.M.E. on the LMD-XH550MT monitor in the training room therefore allows teaching staff to draw attention to specific parts of the image, aiding student understanding of surgical procedures.
