Evaluation of Kinect 3D Sensor for Healthcare Imaging

Abstract

Microsoft Kinect is a three-dimensional (3D) sensor originally designed for gaming that has received growing interest as a cost-effective and safe device for healthcare imaging. Recent applications of Kinect in health monitoring, screening, rehabilitation, assistance systems, and intervention support are reviewed here. The suitability of available technologies for healthcare imaging applications is assessed. The performance of Kinect I, based on structured light technology, is compared with that of the more recent Kinect II, which uses time-of-flight measurement, under conditions relevant to healthcare applications. The accuracy, precision, and resolution of 3D images generated with Kinect I and Kinect II are evaluated using flat cardboard models representing different skin colors (pale, medium, and dark) at distances ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 m and measurement angles of up to 75°. Both sensors demonstrated high accuracy (majority of measurements <2 mm) and precision (mean point to plane error <2 mm) at an average resolution of at least 390 points per cm2. Kinect I is capable of imaging at shorter measurement distances, but Kinect II enables structures angled at over 60° to be evaluated. Kinect II showed significantly higher precision and Kinect I showed significantly higher resolution (both p < 0.001). The choice of object color can influence measurement range and precision. Although Kinect is not a medical imaging device, both sensor generations show performance adequate for a range of healthcare imaging applications. Kinect I is more appropriate for short-range imaging and Kinect II is more appropriate for imaging highly curved surfaces such as the face or breast.

Dioptric defocus maps across the visual field for different indoor environments

“…However, even within that range of standard deviations, the uncertainty of defocus is only on the order of centimetres. Furthermore, in accordance with the already published literature, it can be concluded that the device is feasible and sufficiently reliable for biomedical applications [18][19][20].…”

“…1). The reliability of the Kinect camera with respect to depth measurements has been confirmed before [18][19][20].…”

3D imaging system for respiratory monitoring in pediatric intensive care environment

“…However, these devices presently work with a borderline level of acceptance of depth resolution. Many research works investigated the performance of RGB-D cameras such as Kinect v1 sensor (Khoshelham and Elberink, 2012;Mallick et al, 2014), Kinect v2 sensor (Lachat et al, 2015;Pöhlmann et al, 2016;Sarbolandi et al, 2015) and Intel RealSense RGB-D imaging systems (Keselman et al, 2017). The Kinect v2 sensor has been markedly used in many research works due its promising properties.…”

Definition of Motion and Biophysical Indicators for Home-Based Rehabilitation through Serious Games

“…It offers a wide field of view (70 × 60 degrees) and recognition up to 4.5 m from the device [12]. Several studies have demonstrated that spatiotemporal parameters can be validly obtained by Microsoft Kinect V2 [13,14]. The set-up of the interface between the Microsoft Kinect V2 and the Unity3D engine is effortless because the manufacturer provides a Software Development Kit (SDK) and a Unity add-on, which gives developers access to body joint positions and orientations that can be used directly in rehabilitation game development.…”