Touchless gesture user interface for interactive image visualization in urological surgery.

Purpose: In the operating room (OR) a touchless interface is an ideal solution since it does not demand any physical contact and still can provide the necessary control features in a cleansed and sterilized environment.

Methods: Using open-source software libraries and image processing techniques, we implemented a hand tracking and gesture recognition system based on the Kinect device that enables surgeon to successfully touchlessly navigate through the image in the intraoperative setting through a personal computer. We used the InVesalius software, which provides high-quality 3D reconstruction of medical images.