Surgeons at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital are getting attention from the international medical community for their innovative use of the Xbox 360 Kinect in the operating room. The Microsoft system, which uses hands-free motion-sensing controls, allows doctors to manipulate images during surgery without having to touch a thing. The system saves both time and money as surgeons are able to pull up CT or MRI scans for review during an operation without having to re-sterilize the operating area (which would involve changing gloves and gowns).
"The Kinect can recognize hand gestures, as it is essentially a depth-sensing camera that fires out a grid of near infra-red beams to figure out how far away objects are from the camera. Built-in software contains algorithms that help it detect and recognize movement."
"And using hand gestures to zoom in or out of or flip through images could cut out the time surgeons normally spend scrubbing clean after reviewing images, the doctors said. Dr. Calvin Law, a surgical oncologist with the hospital, told the paper that cleaning to prevent bacterial contamination after checking a computer can take up to 20 minutes an image, sometimes adding a full hour to surgery."
"The project was developed by three engineers at the hospital, who have used the Kinect for six surgeries, The Canadian Press said, but the hospital has plans to roll it out in other departments."
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