In 1955 an estimated six to nine million people in the US watched the live broadcast of open heart surgery on a child with a heart malformation. On July 28, 2016, a partnership between GIBLIB, Livit and 360fly will make it possible for medical professionals and the public alike to view a live hernia surgery from just about anywhere in the world, and from a 360-degree interactive point of view.
A single camera made by 360fly will be mounted on a boom just above the patient's feet to provide the best viewing angle of the operation and the surgical team. Anyone watching the surgery will be able to choose the angle they want to see via an app developed by Livit for iOS and Android devices.
That's a long way from one or more bulky static cameras in an operating room over 60 years ago, and a significant departure from recorded surgeries today that are shot mostly from the point of view of the surgeon, where all you see is the organ or area of the body being operated on.
The live video in this case will be provided via a camera developed by 360fly that captures stitchless 360-degree 4K video with a high definition image sensor that provides up to a 2880x2880 pixel video resolution and a recording rate of 50Mbps.
GIBLIB is spearheading this project, and has made a name for itself as a multi-channel network that allows surgeons to more easily share their videos with the rest of the medical community, particularly with those in developing countries who may not have such access. The group brought on 360fly, which then invited Livit because of its experience in streaming live events.
The surgery will be performed by Dr. Shirin Towfigh at the 90210 Surgery Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Towfigh is a nationally recognized hernia surgeon and is affiliated with that surgery center. Besides hernia surgeries, the center is also known for general surgery, breast cancer, gynecology, hand, head & neck, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pain management, plastics, podiatry, spine, and urology.
Anyone interested in viewing the live surgery scheduled for 11 am PDT, Thursday, July 28 can register on a dedicated site GIBLIB set up just for this event.
The three companies did a test run streaming a live surgery earlier this year, but to a closed audience. A bit of that surgery is shown in the video below and gives a sense for what's in store for anyone viewing the live surgery next week.
Sources: 360fly, GIBLIB, Livit