Digital imaging for orthopaedic surgeons

The age of digital photography and video is well upon us now. Most surgeons use digital cameras, DVDs and digital camcorders in their personal lives. Most surgeons have also tried to apply digital photography in their clinical practice for recording interesting cases, teaching purposes and as part of clinical records. However, this technology is still fairly new and advancing at rapid pace. The particular requirements for Orthopaedics, such as photographing radiographs and operative images, are not usually addressed by the automatic settings of digital cameras. This paper is aimed at those surgeons with digital cameras and imaging equipment, who want to maximise and improve their technique in digital photography in the setting of Orthopaedic and Trauma surgery. I am no expert in photography (digital or otherwise). Nor do I put forth this content as fully verified and error-free, although I try very hard to make it so. My goal here is simple-to share what I have learned through experience and cross-checked reading in a rapidly growing and developing field, still rather poorly documented by the vendors and mainstream publications.