Background: There is a need for a device that can be used to objectively evaluate the image quality provided by laparoscopic camera units in the operating room.
Methods: The device that we developed consists of a regular 10-mm or 5-mm laparoscopic port with a rectangular test unit built at the end. A standard test pattern slide with resolution bars is used for measurements. Using this assembly, a single-chip laparoscopic camera was compared with a three-chip laparoscopic camera at different wiring formats and camera settings by measuring the resolution on the monitor screen.
Results: Vertical resolution was found to be constant at 550 lines, regardless of the type of camera and wiring used. Of the three wiring formats, composite wiring provided the poorest image with both cameras. When enhancement was off, the horizontal resolution obtained with Y/C or RGB wiring was the same for the one-chip camera at 640 lines of horizontal resolution, whereas RGB cabling provided the best image for the three-chip camera at 800 lines.
Conclusion: Using basic broadcasting principles, we have developed a simple device that is useful for the comparison of different camera, cabling, and laparoscope configurations in the operating room. This information can be used as objective criteria to judge the image quality in laparoscopic video- systems.