DUSSELDORF, Germany – Around 2,000 attendees joined the International Endoscopy Symposium at Maritim Hotel Airport City in the North of Düsseldorf to learn more about current developments in the field of endoscopy and to exchange information about new technologies and research results with their peers. The three-day event included presentations in the conference hall, on location and live medical procedures broadcast from Evangelisches Krankenhaus Düsseldorf (EVK) hospital.

Operations broadcast live - with AV technology that goes into minute detail

Professor Dr. med. Horst Neuhaus from the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Düsseldorf (EVK) hospital and scientific director of the event, together with organizer and promoter COCS GmbH, chose two Christie D4K40-RGB laser projectors in combination with a Christie Spyder X80 image processor and Pandoras Box Widget Designer as a signal control unit. The equipment was supplied and installed by Christie partner LUXAV Audiovisuelle Kommunikation GmbH; the event specialist was in charge of the complete AV technology on site. The transmission from the EVK hospital was carried out via a fiber optic connection, ensuring excellent picture quality.

As experts for ProAV solutions in the event and entertainment industries, LUXAV has been supporting congresses, conferences and symposia for many years - not only in Germany but throughout Europe. For the 22nd consecutive year, LUXAV oversaw the technology for the symposium, which in 2020 was hosted in Düsseldorf for the 13th time. Live broadcasts in the medical field are a specialty of the company: With more than a thousand broadcasts, LUXAV relies on technicians with a comprehensive experience in the medical field.

Achim Hassebrauk and Georg Bruckner, who provided technical support for the Endoscopy Symposium, are two of them: On both days at the hospital, Hassebrauk supervised the smooth transmission of the medical procedures, whereas Bruckner was in charge of the technical workflows in the auditorium and other congress rooms of the hotel. "At medical congresses, live transmissions from the hospital are often a very effective complement; they are giving the attendees a much more direct access to the topic than, for example, a presentation can provide," Hassebrauk explained.

Christie D4K40-RGB: Richly nuanced look inside the body

For a perfect live transmission from the operating room, one thing is vital: the attendees in the auditorium must have a very close look into the smallest detail of the procedures. Consequently, a high contrast ratio, high brightness and an expanded color gamut are decisive factors. In a medical context, it is most important that all the different shades of red are displayed correctly. The Christie D4K40-RGB projector comes with a light output of 40,000 ANSI Lumen, a contrast ratio of 5000:1 and the extended Rec.2020 color space; therefore, it fully meets the aforementioned requirements. "What’s even more important, the projector is flexible enough to be easily installed in any location or position,” Bruckner added.

The Christie Spyder X80 video processor provided the image processing. Twelve inputs were used to display the various image sources, such as the images of the live procedures from the hospital, the presentation materials, and the live camera image of the speakers or the preview. The multi-screen windowing processor is known and appreciated for its high processing power (80 megapixels at 4K at 60 Hz) and low latency. "In combination with the Pandoras Box Widget Designer, we were able to manage the installation quite easily and without a lot of cabling," Bruckner said.

Conclusion and outlook

The 22nd edition of the International Endoscopy Symposium in Düsseldorf was a complete success in terms of both content and technology for the organizers, attendees and the 45 exhibitors who presented products and new developments in the field of endoscopy. In addition to perfect pictures, the presentations also featured sound in three different languages: As the event has been attracting many guests from Germany and abroad for years, interpreting services into German, English and Russian were also provided for all presentations.

"We are very pleased that with the installation of the two RGB laser projectors we were able to fully take advantage of the possibilities offered by the Christie D4K40-RGB. An LED wall, which was also discussed at an early planning stage, would not have been able to display the richness of detail of the images nearly as vividly in our view," Hassebrauck concluded.

Professor Dr. Horst Neuhaus was also convinced of the quality of the projection: "The attendees and our team are enthusiastic about the new projection technology. It is close to reality, increases attention, and conveys the smallest details with a pleasant depiction of the surroundings.”

The technical setup of the next International Endoscopy Symposium is not yet clear. However, one thing is for sure - the 23rd edition will again allow spectacular insights into the operating room.