A while back we had reported that Microsoft saw a future where the Kinect could be used within the healthcare industry, and it looks like that future has arrived. It seems that the doctors at Sunnybrook Health Services Center in Canada have started to use the Kinect within the confines of the operating room.
When we reported about Microsoft’s vision for the future, we mentioned that sometimes during a procedure, the doctor would be required to go through various records and data, viewing a CT scan for example. This can be achieved by either waiting for a nurse to hand the doctor the data or the doctor would have to use a computer themselves. As it happens, it has been said that there are more germs found on a computer keyboard than there are on a toilet seat, which means it’s highly unlikely the doctor would be putting his/her hands back into the patient after using a computer.
What this means is that the doctor would have to scrub out and scrub in all over again, and repeat this process as many times as necessary. Not only is this a huge waste of time, but it’s time that some patients may not have.
The doctors along with an engineer at Sunnybrook have managed to put together a piece of software that utilizes the Kinect and allows them to perform basic computer functions, such as adjusting images without having to touch the computer. It’s pretty amazing what they have done, and we can only imagine that over time, the software will become more refined and complex. For more information you can check out the video below.
Filed in . Read more about Canada, Hospitals, Kinect and Microsoft.