3D videoconferencing is helping to develop and test surgical teaching - with experimental trials already completed in London and Dublin.

A third dimension in videoconferencing is needed where physical manipulative skills are taught, such as in surgery or dentistry, as 2D transmitted images can inhibit the teaching process.

To overcome this limitation a 3D videoconferencing system was developed and tested in surgical teaching. The system allows a trainee surgeon to be advised by a consultant surgeon who is physically remote from the operation.

In the trials,a trainee surgeon wore a lightweight headset on which two miniature cameras were mounted in order to capture his left and right eye views. Another version of the system has also been used to present 3D views of a total hip replacement operation to groups of medical students.

The trials took place at the Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital in Dublin and, more recently, at the Royal London Hospital.