Using a depth-sensing infrared camera system to access and manipulate medical imaging from within the sterile operating field.

Background: As surgical procedures become increasingly dependent on equipment and imaging, the need for sterile members of the surgical team to have unimpeded access to the nonsterile technology in their operating room (OR) is of growing importance. To our knowledge, our team is the first to use an inexpensive infrared depthsensing camera (a component of the Microsoft Kinect) and software developed inhouse to give surgeons a touchless, gestural interface with which to navigate their picture archiving and communication systems intraoperatively.

Methods: The system was designed and developed with feedback from surgeons and OR personnel and with consideration of the principles of aseptic technique and gestural controls in mind.