We"ve already reported on Kinect Fusion, the upcoming update for Microsoft"s Kinect for Windows SDK that will allow the motion capture technology to scan real objects and environments and replicate them as 3D objects. Now there"s word that Microsoft Research is already developing a way to use Kinect Fusion to help doctors who perform brain surgeries.
During this week"s TechFest at Microsoft"s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, IEEE.org reports that team members at Microsoft Research Cambridge showed an impressive looking demo of their 3D brain scan technology. Normally, when a doctor has to operate on a brain, the doctor sees a 2D scan of the patient"s head on a screen. Microsoft Research Cambridge has come up with a way to take the 2D brain scans and created a true 3D model of a patient"s brain.
The doctor can then go over the patient in the operating room with a Kinect for Windows device connected to a touchscreen and "see" inside his patient. That mean when he or she is ready to perform the surgery, they will have a much better idea of where, say, a tumor is located and how big it is beforehand.
As we have mentioned in the past, the Kinect Fusion update for Kinect for Windows is suppose to be put into the SDK for the device sometime in the near future.
Source: IEEE.org