Wayne, NJ (January 24, 2001) – JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY is pleased to announce that its revolutionary DZ-VCA1U High Definition Micro Camera System was selected by Yale University for use in the first endoscopic procedure using HDTV.
JVC introduced DZ-VCA1U as the world’s smallest and lightest High Definition camera in January 1999. Designed for medical and scientific markets, the cost-effective Micro HD 4:3 color camera is one-third the size and one-sixth the weight of other HD cameras available on the market. The separate camera head weighs just 8.1 oz. (230 grams) and measures only 2.3 x 3.1 x 2.75 inches.
The HD Micro Camera System’s extraordinary miniaturization is made possible by using four one-third inch IT CCDs: these image sensors produce significantly more resolution than that of NTSC video – in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The HDTV signal is generated using a newly-developed Dual Green half pitch offset system, a digital signal processing technique that generates an HD image using two image sensors for G(green) and one each for R(red) and B(blue) which produce extremely high-resolution pictures.
Displaying the HD Image
An HDTV studio standard is incorporated into the JVC DZ-VCA1U’s synchronizing signal enabling HD recording and playback when an HD VTR, such as JVC’s SR-W7U W-VHS VCR, is used. HDTV projectors were used to project images from Yale’s surgeries for audiences to see. Remarkably, the cost of configuring a system with HD monitor and recorder is similar to that of a standard definition video system, bringing true HD capabilities within reach of medical, scientific and educational users.
Miniature Camera Makes History
Steven Palter, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale School of Medicine has performed five endoscopic procedures to date with the JVC DZ-VCA1 4-CCD Camera. Four of the procedures performed by Dr. Palter were laparoscopies, which involve making a tiny incision in the abdomen and inserting an endoscope to view the internal organs. This procedure is often used in tubal ligations and gall bladder removals. The fifth procedure was a hysteroscopy, in which the endoscope is inserted through the vagina into the uterus.
An endoscope is an instrument that visually examines the interior of a bodily canal or hollow organ such as the colon, bladder or stomach. A camera on the endoscope sends the image to a processing unit. The unit then relays the picture to a recorder, which projects the image onto a screen or monitor to guide the physician.
"As far as we know, this technology has never been used this way. We did a series of endoscopic surgeries using JVC’s DZ-VCA1 camera and they were all successful.
Palter presented this HD Micro Camera System as one of the three new emerging medical technologies to a group of 600 surgeons at the AAGL conference held in Orlando, Florida earlier this month. JVC’s DLA-M4000L Video Projectors and the SR-W7U VCR’s were presented as well. The surgeons concluded that these JVC technologies "provided the best image we have ever seen," said Palter.
"When you use HDTV in surgery, you can see tiny details and structures that were not visible before. We believe that this will translate into increased accuracy, decreased errors and decreased surgeon fatigue, which are the advantages of the HDTV system. It’s like looking through a window. It’s that clear," touted Dr. Palter.
In the medical arena, the JVC DZ-VCA1U is especially well suited to endoscopic surgery, microsurgery, pathological microscopy and arthroscopy. The camera system has medical UL2601-1 certification. Optional accessories for these applications are also available. More and more surgical procedures are being conducted through endoscopy because it results in a more rapid recovery for the patient. The incisions are smaller, and, as a result, the costs are lower because it eliminates or minimizes the need for hospitalization.
JVC Vice President of Video Imaging Systems Division, Scott Watson, called the HDTV surgeries for Yale exciting, saying "JVC is pleased to be at the forefront of the medical industry with our contribution of the HD Micro Camera System (DZ-VCA1U) 4-ccd camera in endoscopic surgery. We’ve known that this very sensitive and minute camera offered unique and groundbreaking opportunity across the fields of science, but it’s particularly rewarding to partner with Yale and to play a role in these endoscopic surgeries. Without the extremely high quality images of the HD Micro Camera, these procedures would have been much more difficult to perform successfully."
JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY, headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, distributes a complete line of broadcast and professional equipment including broadcast and imaging cameras, standard and High Definition VCRs and monitors, and projection systems. For more information contact Scott Watson of JVC or visit the JVC Web site at www.jvc.com/pro.