The perspective effect of wide-angle lenses in laparoscopes

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of perspective distortion of wide-angle lenses in laparoscopes on hand-eye coordination during endoscopic manipulation. Methods: Sixteen subjects repeatedly performed a standardized positioning task in a pelvi-trainer under two conditions. The subjects had no prior experience with endoscopic manipulation. In one condition, a wide-angle lens with considerable perspective distortion was used; in the other, a telephoto lens without perspective distortion was used. Task time and number of errors were measured. Results: Task time and the number of errors did not significantly increase in the condition with. a wide-angle lens. Conclusions: The perspective effect did not influence task performance in endoscopic manipulation in this experiment. Subjects indicated that they even preferred the wide-angle lens because its extreme perspective improved their perception of depth.