AUTOMATIC CENTERING OF THE MICROSCOPE IMAGE FOR VITREORETINAL SURGERY

Purpose: The authors report on their device, the surgical image tracke r, which provides automatic compensation for movements of the surgical image within the microscope field of view, during vitreoretinal proce dures. Methods: The authors developed a compact device acting as an au tomatic image tracker, based on video monitoring of the surgical image and translation of the operating microscope. Basic components are a s tandard color charge-coupled device camera and a specifically designed frame grabber for discrimination and tracking of the target image. Op eration of the device is fully compatible with the usual pedal adjustm ents. Results: Ready, fast, and correct automatic centering of the mic roscope field of view has been achieved successfully in all typical op erating conditions. Video recording always is equally well centered. S ystem operation also is effective with panoramic optics and diffuse il lumination. Conclusion: The surgical image tracker appears to be a val uable tool to obtain well auto-centered surgical images, eliminating a bothersome task during vitreoretinal surgery.