CeBIT 2016: Medical Monitor with Eyes and Ears

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Another advantage of the gesture control is that the doctor or health care provider does not have to touch the devices directly. „The transfer of pathogens in hospitals, particularly in intensive care units, is still a problem. The obligatory hand hygiene is sometimes forgotten, and viruses as well as bacteria are carried from room to room", Chojecki describes. The smart screen can be programmed at the bedside, as well as used in the control room (with a different configuration). Chojecki adds: „That‘s an important distinction, since it is not legally permitted for all of the instrument functions in the patients‘ rooms to be accessed from the control room. It has to be ensured that the doctor actually examines the patient before changing the treatment".

Three different cameras and a microphone scan the area in front of the monitor. Using the video data, the built-in software of the HHI analyzes whether there are people in the room, how far away they are from the screen, and what movements they are making. Depending on the distance, the display and functionality of the monitor changes. „Our monitor distinguishes between near, medium, and further distance. The cameras cover a maximum distance of four meters", Chojecki explains. From the medium distance, the cursor can be controlled with arm movements, and commands or short reports can be input by voice. With pre-programmed gestures, for example, a video call can be started, in order to have discussions with other physicians within or outside of the hospital. „We have given the monitor eyes and ears so as to allow for multi-modal interaction between the user and the system. Our software records distances and movements of the user in a contactless manner, interprets them, and converts them into commands for operating systems or machines", Chojecki explains.

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