Vitreoretinal surgery encompasses intra-ocular surgical procedures performed in the posterior segment of the eye where instruments are inserted into the vitreous cavity to treat vision threatening diseases [1]. This surgery requires highly skilled surgeons to visually inspect and differentiate normal anatomy of the retina from pathology and manipulate retinal tissue with microsurgical instruments (Fig. 1). Because the retina is on average 250 μm in thickness and retinal anatomical detail is microscopic, adequate illumination for a clear view of the retina during surgery is extremely crucial [1]. However, the current illumination solutions available require surgeons to devote one working hand to achieving suitable illumination. The traditional illumination option is a needlelike optic fiber enclosed by a rigid conduit, and is known as an endo-illuminator (Fig. 1) [1]. The surgeon views the surgery through a microscope with an optical path that passes through the lens of the patient's eye, while the light pipe is inserted via a small incision through the sclera. The light pipe provides a cone of illumination, where the angle of orientation and the proximity to the viewing surface can be controlled manually by the surgeon to achieve the desired lighting condition. Although this provides adequate lighting at all times, the surgeon has to devote one hand entirely for illumination, while performing surgery solely an end effector on the other hand (unimanual surgery) [1]. Instances exist when we prefer manual control of two end effectors (bimanual surgery). Alternative strategies of illumination, such as diffuse illumination or illuminated instruments, have thus far proved inadequate as they often create shadows or limited field of view, undermining the visibility and clarity of tasks performed during the operation [1,2].
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