Patent ID: 8007281

Claim:
A videoendoscopic surgery trainer for practicing videoendoscopic or videolaparoscopic surgical techniques, comprising: (a) a housing defining a practice volume; and (b) a simulated laparoscope comprising: (i) a handle having a size and shape simulating a handle of a medical laparoscope; (ii) a hollow elongate member extending from a distal portion of the handle into the practice volume; (iii) a digital video camera configured to obtain an image of at least a portion of the practice volume and to output a corresponding signal that can be used to generate a video signal to drive a display; (iv) a digital video camera mounting bracket coupled to a distal end of the hollow elongate member, the digital video camera being physically attached to the digital video camera mounting bracket, thereby supporting the digital video camera within the practice volume, the digital video camera mounting bracket being configured to enable a position of the digital video camera relative to the digital video camera mounting bracket to be selectively changed, thereby enabling the digital video camera to achieve a plurality of different viewing angles by either manually changing a position of a proximal end of the elongate member or by changing the position of the digital video camera relative to the a digital video camera mounting bracket; and (v) a data cable having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end being logically coupled to the digital video camera, the proximal end being configured to logically couple to at least one of a display and a computing device, a first portion of the data cable extending from the digital video camera and the handle being disposed inside the elongate member, a second portion of the data cable extending from the handle to the proximal end of the data cable, the second portion of the data cable extending outwardly and away from a proximal portion of the handle, the data cable being configured to be coupled to a computing device.