 British Journal of Neurosurgery, December 2014; 28(6): 819–820 © 2014 The Neurosurgical Foundation ISSN: 0268-8697 print / ISSN 1360-046X online DOI: 10.3109/02688697.2014.931348 Alternative cost-effective method to record 3D intra-operative images: A technical note Damiano Giuseppe Barone 1,2 , Vin Shen Ban 2 , Ramez W Kirollos 2 , Rikin A. Trivedi 2 , Diederik O. Bulters 2,3 , Guilherme Carvalhal Ribas 4 & Thomas Santarius 2 1 Department of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre, Liverpool, UK, 2 Department of Neurosurgery, Addenbrooke’ s Hospital, Cambridge, UK, 3 Department of Neurosurgery, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK, and 4 Department of Neurosurgery, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Correspondence: Damiano G Barone, MD, MRCS, Department of Neurosurgery, he Walton Centre, Liverpool, L9 7LJ, UK. E-mail: baronedg@gmail.com Received for publication 12 October 2013; accepted 31 May 2014 Introduction Techniques for the production and re-production of 3D images have been reined in the last two decades, and awareness of the value of 3D imaging applied to medical education has increasingly been appreciated. 1 In neuro- surgery stereoscopy has been used very successfully to demonstrate microsurgical anatomy by Dr Albert Rhoton and co-workers. Ribas et al in 2001 2 and Shimizu et al in 2006, 3 explained the importance of 3D neuroanatomical imaging as a teaching tool in neurosurgical training and comprehensively described original techniques for their production. However, the use of 3D imaging in neurosurgical training is not as widespread as it could be, partially due to the com- plexity of some techniques described in the past, the long preparation time in the pre- and post-operative phases and their interference with the operation, making it impractical in busy neurosurgical theatres. Companies producing microscopes and endoscopes have developed integrated 3D technology making 3D recording and editing less complex, but these are still very expensive. In this technical note, we describe one of the techniques for recording still 3D images in the operating theatre as well as in the neuro-anatomical laboratory used in Cambridge (UK) and San Paulo (Brazil). Materials and methods he Leica IC3D Digital Camera (Leica Microsystems, Welzar, Germany), originally was developed for use with desktop laboratory microscopes. he IC3D has a dual 3.3 Megapixel sensors providing a resolution of 2088  1550 pixels. More technical details regarding the camera can be found on the developer website (http://www.leica-microsystems.com/). We found it to be compatible with the Leica surgical microscopes (Leica M520 MS2 + ULY500), and with suitable adapters we have also used it with other brands of micro- scopes (Zeiss Pentero microscopes). he IC3D digital camera mechanically connects with the microscope eyepiece, sitting between the eyepiece and the objective lens (Fig. 1). IC3D is connected and powered through IEEE 1394a High Speed Serial Bus (also known as FireWire 400) to a desktop com- puter with the Planar SD2020 (Planar Systems Inc., Beaver- ton, Oregon, USA) monitor (Fig. 2). he Leica Stereo Viewer v1.2 (Leica Microsystems, Welzar, Germany) is used for operating the camera, although other digital Twain camera software can be used. he IC3D camera is connected to the microscope before this is balanced and draped. At this point, the IC3D can be connected to the computer and tested without afecting the operating theatre worklow. Focusing is a crucial step in the whole procedure. he addition of the IC3D in-between the objective lens and main eyepiece afects the focus of the image seen through the latter. When the image is focused through the IC3D onto the computer screen, the image is out TECHNICAL NOTE Abstract The educational value of stereoscopic imaging in neurosurgical training has increasingly been appreciated and its use increased during the last decade. We describe a technique that we developed to acquire and reproduce intra-operative stereoscopic images. Keywords: 3D camera; medical education; neuroanatomy; neurosurgical training; stereoscopy Br J Neurosurg Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by 86.184.93.32 on 11/29/14 For personal use only.