How to get good surgical photos?

[drhobie7]

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Hi Guys,
I've recently been yelled at for not getting good photos intraoperatively. Any suggestions? How do you all get good photos during surgery? I have problems getting the autofocus camera to focus on the desired site. It always ends up focusing on drapes or lip. Thanks!

 

[IcedOMFS]

Hi Guys,
I've recently been yelled at for not getting good photos intraoperatively. Any suggestions? How do you all get good photos during surgery? I have problems getting the autofocus camera to focus on the desired site. It always ends up focusing on drapes or lip. Thanks!

What kind of camera are you using? A little dinky point and shoot? Or have you picked up a good DSLR?

Generally you can play with the autofocus settings in the camera... Often it will be set to pick up the closest object... Photographers talk about planes of focus - Everything in the same 3-dimensional plane as said closest object will be in focus best. Everything else will be out of focus.

See if you can switch it to a center-focus mode, then make sure whatever you are trying to take a photo of is in the center. With a point and shoot, even this is not a guarantee.

If you are looking down into a hole with a drape around it, try to get everything important in roughly the same 3-D plane... That way everything comes out pretty close to in focus. For example, you need to take photos of plates as parallel to the plate as you can get, otherwise half of it will be out of focus.

Also try to get the most important thing at the front, so it is in focus, with the out of focus, less important things in the background.

Best way to do it: Get a DSLR with a good lens. Put it on manual focus. Then you control what is in focus by turning the focus ring. If you have a fixed focal length lens, your field of view is limited. If you buy a lens with adjustable focal length, you pick the field of view and what is in focus. Get a ring flash to go with it. Intraoral or intra-incision photos turn out much better with it.

I recommend Nikon. They have the best selection of lenses, and probably the best quality of lens. Their new D40X is a great camera for a great price. Traditionally people used the 105 mm lens for medical photography. With digital, the focal length is multiplied by about 1.5. So your field of view gets smaller. I find that you need about a 60 mm lens to get good full-face shots if you are scrubbed in and are limited by how far away from the patient you can stand. Nikon has a great 60 mm macro lens.

 

[scalpel2008]

Hi Guys,
I've recently been yelled at for not getting good photos intraoperatively. Any suggestions? How do you all get good photos during surgery? I have problems getting the autofocus camera to focus on the desired site. It always ends up focusing on drapes or lip. Thanks!

get your overhead OR lights off the field
if your camera has a little flower symbol use it (i don't know what that is but it seems to work for us)

 

[IcedOMFS]

get your overhead OR lights off the field
if your camera has a little flower symbol use it (i don't know what that is but it seems to work for us)

The macro setting...

 

[toofache32]

First of all, quit using the auto focus. And yes make sure the OR lights and headlights are out of the field. I have someone with a headlight look at the field while I focus, then I tell them "out" just before I take the photo. Intraoperatively, I keep the speed around 100 to 160, and aperture between f/22 and f/28 depending on how far away I am. You HAVE to use a ring flash if you want any control over the lighting and shadows.

 

[1992Corolla]

The flower is the symbol for 'close up' or macro as someone so wisely stated.

+1 for the Nikon D40
A less expensive alternative would be the new Rebel XTi by Canon. Costco has it for 600 bucks and a macro and ring flash would probably set you back the same amount.

 

[drhobie7]

Thanks guys. It seems like such a hassle to stop intraoperatively and put on overgloves. I guess there's no other way to do it thought.

 

[1992Corolla]

I have been wanting the Canon Rebel Xti fopr a while. On ebay you can get one shipped for free, new in box with lots of accessories, three lenses (wide angle, macro, zoom I think), tripods, memory cards, recharger dock, etc. for 1000. That is better than costco. Whether the lenses and accessories are name brand or 'made in sweat shop' is something you will have to look into as far as quality, but the ratings of the sellers looks good (ie 96% +, 36,000 sales)

 

[IcedOMFS]

Thanks guys. It seems like such a hassle to stop intraoperatively and put on overgloves. I guess there's no other way to do it thought.

It can be a pain, but I find most attendings are pretty good about it, especially for big cases. You make sure you are on the ball taking pre-op photos, even on the ward if you can. Then at key points in the surgery, like when you have everything opened up, and then after fixation is on or the pathology is out... Only takes a minute if you are good at it.

It's totally worth it afterwards. You look like a hotshot at presentations when you have top notch photos.

 

[IcedOMFS]

I have been wanting the Canon Rebel Xti fopr a while. On ebay you can get one shipped for free, new in box with lots of accessories, three lenses (wide angle, macro, zoom I think), tripods, memory cards, recharger dock, etc. for 1000. That is better than costco. Whether the lenses and accessories are name brand or 'made in sweat shop' is something you will have to look into as far as quality, but the ratings of the sellers looks good (ie 96% +, 36,000 sales)

I try to stick to known retailers. These cameras generally come with excellent warranties, but only if you buy it from a real place. Amazon is actually pretty good. Try Ritzcamera, or Adorama too.