Kinect Fusion-powered concept demos AR brain models for neurosurgeons

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http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/kinect-fusion-brain-1_620x340.jpgMicrosoft has talked up its Kinect Fusion tool since 2011 (http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/09/microsofts-kinectfusion-research-project-offers-real-time-3d-re/), but it took some time at TechFest (http://www.engadget.com/tag/TechFest/) this week to show off how the software could be useful in operating rooms. For those who need a refresher, Redmond's solution can create 3D models of whatever an attached Kinect sensor lays eyes on, but in this instance it was leveraged to create an augmented reality experience. Using an off-the-shelf Kinect camera duct-taped to a tablet, Microsoft researchers layered a model of a brain onto a mannequin's head, making its would-be mind viewable on the slate from different angles. Ballmer and Co. reckon that neurosurgeons could use the technique to visualize what's in a patient's noggin and plan how they'll guide their scalpel. Word that Fusion would come to the Kinect for Windows SDK first surfaced last year (http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/06/kinect-fusion-windows-for-kinect-sdk/), but Microsoft now says it'll hit the dev kit's next release, which should arrive shortly. Head past the break to catch a video of the medical concept app in action.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/09/kinect-fusion-augmented-reality-brain-neurosurgeons/