Background Technological developments allow for a variety of applications of video recording in health care, including endoscopic procedures. Although the value of video registration is recognized, medicolegal concerns regarding the privacy of patients and professionals are growing. A clear understanding of the legal framework is lacking. Therefore, this research aims to provide insight into the juridical position of patients and professionals regarding video recording in health care practice. Methods Jurisprudence was searched to exemplify legislation on video recording in health care. In addition, legislation was translated for different applications of video in health care found in the literature. Results Three principles in Western law are relevant for video recording in health care practice: (1) regulations on privacy regarding personal data, which apply to the gathering and processing of video data in health care settings; (2) the patient record, in which video data can be stored; and (3) professional secrecy, which protects the privacy of patients including video data. Practical implementation of these principles in video recording in health care does not exist. Conclusion Practical regulations on video recording in health care for different specifically defined purposes are needed. Innovations in video capture technology that enable video data to be made anonymous automatically can contribute to protection for the privacy of all the people involved.Keywords Health care Á Law Á Patient safety Á Privacy Á Surgery Á Video Video imaging is becoming increasingly important in health care, especially in endoscopic surgery. Although the advantages of video recording are recognized, concerns regarding the privacy of patients and professionals related to video recording are growing. Yet the legal framework of video recording in clinical practice has never been described clearly before.The advantages of recording images in a medical setting are numerous [1][2][3], and consequently a wide variety of applications in health care has been suggested. In endoscopic surgery, videos are obviously indispensible. Endoscopic videos are primarily used in real time during minimally invasive surgery (MIS), but the video images also may be stored for later use in education or evaluation.Regular video cameras are present throughout health care as well. Video recording allows reviewing of results at any time from any location. Video data are most commonly used as a research tool to assess the skills of professionals and students or to monitor processes for the purpose of improving quality, efficiency and safety of care.

Accurate placement of the needle tip is essential in percutaneous therapies such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of liver tumors. Use of a robotic system for navigating the needle could improve the targeting accuracy. Real-time information on the needle tip position is needed, since a needle deflects during insertion in tissue. Needle shape can be reconstructed based on strain measurements within the needle. In the current experiment we determined the accuracy with which the needle tip position can be derived from strain measurements using Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs). Three glass fibers equipped with two FBGs each were incorporated in a needle. The needle was clamped at one end and deformed by applying static radial displacements at one or two locations. The FBG output was used for offline estimation of the needle shape and tip position. During deflections of the needle tip up to 12.5 mm, the tip position was estimated with a mean accuracy of 0.89 mm (std 0.42 mm). Adding a second deflection resulted in an error of 1.32 mm (std 0.48 mm). This accuracy is appropriate for applications such as RFA of liver tumors. The results further show that the accuracy can be improved by optimizing the placement of FBGs.

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This study aims to develop and evaluate a manually controlled steerable needle that is compatible with and visible on MRI to facilitate full intra-procedural control and accurate navigation in percutaneous interventions. The steerable needle has a working channel that provides a lumen to a cutting stylet or a therapeutic instrument. A steering mechanism based on cable-operated compliant elements is integrated in the working channel. The needle can be steered by adjusting the orientation of the needle tip through manipulation of the handle. The steering mechanism is evaluated by recording needle deflection at constant steering angles. A steering angle of 20.3° results in a deflection of 9.1–13.3 mm in gelatin and 4.6–18.9 mm in porcine liver tissue at an insertion depth of 60 mm. Additionally, the possibility to control the needle path under MRI guidance is evaluated in a gelatin phantom. The needle can be steered to targets at different locations while starting from the same initial position and orientation under MRI guidance with generally available sequences. The steerable needle offers flexibility to the physician in control and choice of the needle path when navigating the needle toward the target position, which allows for optimization of individual treatment and may increase target accuracy.

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