It is not about the idea. It is about making the idea happen.

India is home to over 12 million visually impaired people and this number is ever on the rise and only about 14,000 ophthalmologists to cater to this vast population . To address proper documentation and archiving the surgeries recorded, we not only need extra efforts and resources, but also simple and cost-effective solutions that can reach every nook and corner of our country and other low income countries .

Echoing this maxim, the genesis of a DSLR adapter was laid. What began as an idea, gathered strength by the tremendous interest that it generated in our fraternity.

I feel blessed that we are living in an era of digital technology that has made the world so small.Our team at Innovision Medical optics has always dreamt of utilising the digital technology to address the simple cost effective solutions for 4K and HD quality surgical recording . With smart and innovative ideas and excellent team work, we came up with our dream- come-true innovation,a MAKE IN INDIA DSLR adapter; we called it ‘INNOVISION DSLR ADAPTER ’.

Innovision DSLR adapter overcomes multiple shortcomings of existing C- mounts. Firstly, it overcomes the cost factor. Almost all the current C– mounts and analogue cameras come at exuberant prices that makes it unaffordable for most young ophthalmologists, especially those working in rural areas of any country. Secondly, it overcomes a major flaw of most analogue cameras in that they are unable to image in HD and 4K resolutions. Thirdly, our device being portable and modern day DSLR’s with OLED screen with touchscreen functions , it overcomes the difficulty of current analogue cameras in their inability to use it without TV or LED monitors . Innovision DSLR adapter being very handy can be very helpful in dealing with digital imaging and recording on surgical microscopes and slitlamps.

These unmet needs can be met with simple and indigenous solutions such as Innovision DSLR adapter, devised to address the needs of our country. The Innovision DSLR adapter has grown beyond expectations bringing together specialists from our country and other low income countries to own a high quality video recording solutions at an affordable cost.

The journey so far…………..

I wish to thank all who contacted me for a low cost 4K DSLR surgical video recording system .Many thanks to my friend Dr Vijay Sajjanar who furnished my contact details to the queries and promoted the idea to market it on ophthalmology equipments forum on facebook groups . I successfully installed my jugaad unit with Dr Pradeep Reddy at Meenakshi netralaya in a small remote town of Yadgir, Karnataka .It was a right place to begin with to understand the pulse of the comprehensive ophthalmologists practicing in remote areas.I had become an entrepreneur by this time . I had made a humble beginning by installing a customised adapter and an indian beamsplitter with a panasonic low end DSLR camera with accessories for zeiss model microscope.It brought many queries and phone calls from India and abroad and paved way for bigger dreams.

With Dr Quresh maskati

DSLR adapter launch

Pradeep Reddy

Dr Ashwin Bafna

 

I wish to thank Dr Quresh Maskati, Past president Of AIOS , India who patiently waited for 3 months till the first INNOVISION DSLR adapter was ready and consented to launch the product at AIOS conference 2018, Coimbatore on 22-03- 2018 and Dr Ashwin Bafna,a VR surgeon who trusted me too and ordered the adapter even without a Demo paving way for smart marketing techniques in terms of saving costs to our fraternity .

I wish to acknowledge the help of Dr Arup Chakrabarthy who emphasized that a website is the need of the hour.

I cannot forget the wholehearted support of my wife Mrs Jyoti Shet who was a pillar of tolerance inspite of my late working hours after busy private practice and lost family hours and to promote it as a business venture .


Dr Satish D Shet, M.S (Oph)


Points to ponder……

The advantages of DSLR cameras are obvious:
• Sensors: all DSLR cameras have large sensors (22.2 x 14.8 mm, 36 x 24 mm or 17.3 x 13mm)
- High resolution due to high pixel numbers
- Extensive dynamic range (range of light intensities that can be captured simultaneously),making subtle differences in brightness and colour visible.
Light sensitivity(ISO): high light sensitivity reduces exposure times and is essential in low-illumination techniques such as fluorescence microscopy.
Colour depth: DSLR cameras typically have at least 14 bits per RGB channel (42 bits per pixel RGB).
• Live View display in full HD quality and in real time , digital video output for TV monitors and projectors, HDMI output with full HD or even 4k, ideal for discussions and presentations. • Extremely short exposure time (1/8000 of a second): at sufficient light intensity, even fast- moving live objects can be captured with pinpoint clarity thanks to the mechanical shutter.
Can be controlled via PC/Mac,thus enabling a highly efficient workflow • Full HD video function for the recording of videos; some cameras even offer 4k video capabilities (resolution four times greater than full HD).
• High pixel number: especially at low magnifications, more details can be reproduced.
• Separate display for image control.
• For stationary operation, dummy batteries are available, thus allowing the camera to be powered through an AC wall outlet.
• Camera can also be operated without PC/Mac connection as it can work as an autonomous system.
• Because of the high sales volumes, there is a huge second hand market in DSLRs.

• Microscope companies often give poor ratings to cameras from third-party manufacturers and avoid recommending them. This is partly because they advertise only their own products, and sometimes also because they lack the expertise needed to select the camera that is best suited to the customer’s needs from the hundreds of models available on the market. We have been working with DSLRs for many years, and we regularly test the latest models and publish test reports to give our customers the benefit of our experience. To assist in the decision-making process, we have put together a set of economical DSLR cameras which are available in the market on our website.



Disadvantages of DSLRs:
Not many software bundles are available, and the few that are offered must be put together by the user himself/herself.
No interoperability with motorised microscopes.
• Manufacturers rarely provide information on spectral sensitivity.
• No cooling( Peltier system)which is particularly important in the case of extremely faint objects (e.g. photon counting).