Xbox aids surgeons

The Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect is being used in operating theatres to view and manipulate medical imaging, says ZD Net.

Surgeons and scientists at Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital are using the motion-sensing games controller to view images of the operation on screen.

Instead of relying on assistants, doctors simply wave their hands in the air and the Kinect translates those movements to have scanners zoom in and out, giving them a clearer view of what is happening.

The Kinect innovation means that surgeons no longer have to leave the sterile area around the patient to view an image, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. This, in turn, cuts down on time spent scrubbing in and out, and keeps doctors focused on the task at hand.

According to John Moore, a health IT analyst and blogger at Chilmark Research in Cambridge, Microsoft remains on the “periphery” of the multi-billion dollar healthcare solutions industry, reports Canoe.ca.

But the company is making inroads into the hospital business, he says. Last week, the Redmond, Washington-based company said it released its Sentillion healthcare products in Asia, a year after acquiring the computer program company.

The Next Web says the Kinect has been a screaming hit for Microsoft, shifting more than 10 million units thus far, and in the process becoming the fastest selling consumer gadget of all time.

All eyes of the console world are fixed on the motion sensing controller, trying to glean its reasons for success, and perhaps even its secrets, hoping to replicate its massive release and popularity.