The advantages of the A.V.I. Panoramic Viewing System in Vitreous Surgery by Stanley Chang, M.D.
1. With the advent of the transparent image inverter and two miniaturized contact lenses a high-resolution view of the entire fundus was made possible. Panoramic views through this system allow the selection of 68-degree field of view up to the equator or a 130-degree field of view up to the ora serrata. Current direct biomicroscopic viewing allows only a 20 or 35-degree field of view. Other wide field systems allow only a 70-degree field of view, which does not offer the precision and higher resolution image of the A.V.I. system. This approach added new dimentions to the surgical capability in complex cases of retinal detachment.
2. Greater depth of focus compared with conventional direct viewing system using plano-concave contact lenses.
3. Integration with conventional plano-concave contact lens system, so that one lens can be removed and replaced by another lens easily. The miniature indirect lenses are compact, lightweight in comparison to other panoramic lenses. Thus their size allows manipulation on the eye without interfering with placement of the surgical instruments.