Evaluating the Microsoft Kinect compared to the mouse as an effective interaction device for medical imaging manipulations

Volume-rendered medical images afford medical professionals increased information to provide their patients with more advanced diagnoses than previously allowed with 2D slices. Three-dimensional (3D) images enable a noninvasive depiction of a patient’s body, which a surgeon would expect to see during an invasive surgery. These generated 3D representations can more effectively and efficiently convey information about the patient to the surgeon, bypassing the mental reconstruction required by radiologists to interpret the same patient’s data displaced on a two-dimensional (2D) array of images. Time demands on doctors prohibit mastering complicated software packages with steep learning curves. Designs of medical imaging software must be easy to learn with effective functionality for the software to be used and accessible to medical professionals. Interacting with the software is a key component of usability and accessibility. Commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) interaction devices provide new opportunities to manipulate 3D medical imaging software to further reduce a traditionally steep learning curve in medical imaging software. Implementing these devices into medical environments can create new concerns with sterilization and effective utilization. Specific COTS devices offer sterile, touch-less interaction that would be ideal for medical operating rooms (OR), anatomy labs or clinics. These devices allow medical professionals direct control of the patient’s data being examined. This thesis explores the usability and functionality of the Microsoft KinectTM as an interaction device for medical imaging technology by being able to complete a task called windowing or