Remote, Touchless Interaction with Medical Images and Telementoring in the Operating Room Using a Kinect-Based Application—A Usability Study

Abstract

Innovative technologies can improve user usability and satisfaction in computer-based activities in the work environment, including surgeons working in the operating room (OR). A scrubbed surgeon must ask unscrubbed staff to retrieve medical images from a surgical PACS system on a monitor in a hybrid operating room. The study aimed to check users’ usability and satisfaction with the designed and developed Ortho_Kinect_OR application, which enables contactless control of access to medical images during surgery. The application also facilitates access to telemedicine applications such as intraoperative telementoring during orthopedic procedures or tele-education. The application’s usability was tested by assigning standardized tasks to surgeons for PACS and teleconferencing in the operating room. Hand gestures were recognized and translated to function like mouse buttons. Field tests conducted among orthopedic surgeons showed high usability and user satisfaction. PACS access in the operating room did not distract the orthopedic surgeon during orthopedic surgery procedures. All surgeons completed the tests and tasks without any problems. OR field test results showed high agreement among users and were very satisfactory. Junior surgeons and residents pointed out that people with average computer knowledge could use the application. It has been shown that the contactless system designed and built based on the Kinect sensor available on the shelves meets the requirements of the operating room environment and is easy to use. Touchless controller technology provides the opportunity to increase the use of intraoperative imaging previews and improve the safety of surgical patients by improving sterility and reducing unnecessary staff in the operating room. Using the Ortho_Kinect_OR application and the Kinect sensor, it is possible to provide contactless access to videoconference telementoring and PACS in the operating room without an orthopedic surgeon’s unnecessary distraction in the operating room environment.

Keywords

• Kinect
• gestures
• operating room
• orthopedic surgery
• touchless image retrieval
• PACS