Microsoft’s Kinect Technology in Trial Use for Surgery
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Microsoft(LONDON) — A video gaming device could change the way surgical procedures are performed. Surgeons at London’s St. Thomas Hospital have been using Microsoft’s Kinect technology, which operates by motion sensors, in a trial period to see whether or not the technology makes surgical procedures easier, according to BBC News.
Motion sensors have been around for a while, but what makes the Kinect unique is that it requires no controller at all. Players just wave their hands in front of a sensor, and the technology reads the movements to manipulate images on a screen.
In surgery, doctors hold their arms clearly in front of the Kinect and are able to manipulate photos and charts on a monitor. The uses include zooming in and out, rotating pictures, and switching between photos or documents on the monitors. The doctors are also able to use voice commands, reports BBC News.
Tom Carrell, a surgeon at St. Thomas Hospital says, according to BBC News, “Until recently I was shouting out across the operating theatre to tell someone to go up, down, left right. But with the Kinect I’m able to get the position that I want quickly — and also without me having to handle non-sterile things like a keyboard or mouse during the procedure.”
John Brennan, President of the British Society for Endovascular Therapy says the potential for the technology’s use is great, the BBC reports. “I would find it difficult to think of operating rooms in ten or 15 years time where these were just not the norm.”
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