GazeTap: towards hands-free interaction in the operating room

Abstract

During minimally-invasive interventions, physicians need to interact with medical image data, which cannot be done while the hands are occupied. To address this challenge, we propose two interaction techniques which use gaze and foot as input modalities for hands-free interaction. To investigate the feasibility of these techniques, we created a setup consisting of a mobile eye-tracking device, a tactile floor, two laptops, and the large screen of an angiography suite. We conducted a user study to evaluate how to navigate medical images without the need for hand interaction. Both multimodal approaches, as well as a foot-only interaction technique, were compared regarding task completion time and subjective workload. The results revealed comparable performance of all methods. Selection is accomplished faster via gaze than with a foot only approach, but gaze and foot easily interfere when used at the same time. This paper contributes to HCI by providing techniques and evaluation results for combined gaze and foot interaction when standing. Our method may enable more effective computer interactions in the operating room, resulting in a more beneficial use of medical information.

Digital Transformation in Health Care: Augmented Reality for Hands-Free Service Innovation

“…A reoccurring problem with existing POC systems is that health care workers cannot use them when they do not have their hands free. This is especially problematic in health care where many procedures need to be performed aseptically (Hatscher et al 2017). In this regard, smartphones, tablets and laptops are not well suited for documentation at the POC, because they should not be touched while the practitioner's hands are sterile or soiled.…”

“…The digital transformation is recognized as a key component to tackle this challenge (Gopal et al 2019). Due to hygienic requirements hands-free technology interaction is often required in the health care sector (Hatscher et al 2017). Established smart devices like smartphones and tablets are not an optimal fit.…”

Design and evaluation of an eye tracking support system for the scrub nurse

“…More complex gestures, such as drag and drop and similar interactions involving multiple objects, are possible, but the impact on the usability still needs to be evaluated. Hatscher et al confirmed gaze interactions as an excellent modality for pointing tasks but found that it can easily interfere when other body parts are used for interaction …”

“…Hatscher et al confirmed gaze interactions as an excellent modality for pointing tasks but found that it can easily interfere when other body parts are used for interaction. 30 We measured the workload of the participants using NASA Raw-TLX. The subscales show that, although users were confronted with a new interaction technique, frustration and physical demand were low.…”

Path Word

“…Gaze gestures ofer a natural appeal for applications in Human-Computer Interaction. Smooth pursuit eye movements have demonstrated encouraging interaction modalities, they unveil a higher degree of privacy preservation, i.e., they allow users to interact with computing machines conidently [21,36]. As such, their investigations in passwords and PINs entry mechanism for user identiication are gaining considerable attention [8].…”