In 1948, CBS was approached by the pharmaceutical house of Smith, Kline & French, with a proposal to use color television as a teaching tool for surgery.  CBS accepted, and on May 31, 1949, the first live operation in front of color television cameras took place at the University of Pennsylvania.  In December 1949, the CBS team took this system to the American Medical Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City.

The equipment consisted of field sequential cameras and support equipment made for CBS, and receivers made by Zenith.

Operations taking place in Atlantic City Hospital were televised to 15,000 viewers (1,000 at a time) in the convention hall.  The response from viewers was tremendous, and some people were fainting, when they witnessed the realism of surgery delivered through the power of color images. Here is a 1949 Life Magazine article and a 1949 Popular Science article.

Courtesy of John K. Makenzie

March 12, 1954, with a newer camera

Zenith Receiver

In 1956, the field sequential equipment was replaced by NTSC equipment from RCA, including TK-41 cameras. A personal narrative by John K. Mackenzie provides a good description of the SKF project.

Postcard sent to physicians in 1957

Courtesy of Wayne Bretl