Touchless computer interfaces in hospitals: A review

Abstract

The widespread use of technology in hospitals and the difficulty of sterilising computer controls has increased opportunities for the spread of pathogens. This leads to an interest in touchless user interfaces for computer systems. We present a review of touchless interaction with computer equipment in the hospital environment, based on a systematic search of the literature. Sterility provides an implied theme and motivation for the field as a whole, but other advantages, such as hands-busy settings, are also proposed. Overcoming hardware restrictions has been a major theme, but in recent research, technical difficulties have receded. Image navigation is the most frequently considered task and the operating room the most frequently considered environment. Gestures have been implemented for input, system and content control. Most of the studies found have small sample sizes and focus on feasibility, acceptability or gesture-recognition accuracy. We conclude this article with an agenda for future work.

A Survey of Mid-Air Ultrasound Haptics and Its Applications

“…Contactless user interfaces have many potential applications in medical and healthcare settings, where sterility is a concern that impedes interaction [99]. In sterile conditions, interaction often happens by proxy [100], leading to inefficiency. Mid-air interaction can potentially alleviate such barriers to interaction, with haptic feedback used to improve usability.…”

Using artificial intelligence to assess clinicians’ communication skills

“…Many clinicians may prefer to use their voice rather than keyboard and mouse to interact with technology. Some, such as radiologists, already interact with digital systems using voice and physical gestures, and studies suggest important productivity gains,45 although efforts are needed to ensure safety and efficiency.…”

A novel autonomous learning framework to enhance sEMG-based hand gesture recognition using depth information

“…In [14], a set of gestures has been introduced in order to control the projection of 2D CT scans and 3D segmentation of medical images on radiation shield during Computed Tomography (CT) by using LMC. All of these cited works show that hand gesture integration in operating rooms and telerobotic surgeries is feasible, but performance issues still exist when they are compared to clinically established methods [15,16,17].…”