Touchless Control for Surgery Centers and OBLs

Here is the short answer. Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and office-based labs (OBLs) can add touchless image control with software and a standard RGB camera, without an OR integration platform. AirTouch converts hand gestures into the mouse, keyboard, and touch input the existing viewer already understands. There is no SDK, no plugin, and no change to the PACS or imaging equipment, which suits sites that have no biomedical engineering team and no appetite for a capital project.

Why do ASCs and OBLs feel the image control problem more?

Big hospitals solve sterile image navigation with people. There is usually someone available to drive the workstation while the physician narrates.

Outpatient sites run leaner. Staffing is tight by design, rooms turn over quickly, and the schedule is the business. When the one circulator is pulled to the workstation to scroll a CT, something else waits. When the physician breaks scrub to look for themselves, the whole day slides.

Integrated operating room systems address this, and they are priced and scoped for hospital construction budgets. Most outpatient rooms will never have one.

What does a touchless setup look like in a small room?

Three parts: the workstation you have, the viewer you have, and one camera with a clear view of where the physician stands. AirTouch runs on the workstation. A pinch is a click, a pinch and drag scrolls or rotates, and mapped gestures fire your viewer's keyboard shortcuts.

Nothing enters the sterile field, so there is nothing to drape and nothing to reprocess during turnover. Latency runs around 50ms, which feels attached to the hand. Software setup takes minutes. Camera placement takes a little thought, and our camera setup guide covers framing and frame rate.

Which procedures benefit most?

• Vascular and endovascular work in OBLs. Prior imaging and earlier runs are reviewed repeatedly during a case. See touchless image control in the IR suite and cath lab.

• Orthopedics and spine. Preoperative CT and MR are referenced for levels, trajectories, and implant planning.

• ENT and sinus surgery. CT anatomy is checked throughout the case.

• Pain management and other image-guided procedures. Short cases where any delay is a large share of the total time.

How is it priced?

AirTouch is licensed per device, by subscription, with annual billing at a discount. There is no capital purchase and no per-procedure consumable. Current plans are on the pricing page. For a single room pilot, the cost conversation is usually short.

What should a small site check first?

• Workstation. Windows or Linux, a 10th generation Intel Core i3 or better with 8GB of memory, and an internet connection.

• Viewer shortcuts. List the five actions your physicians ask for most. Those become your gesture map.

• Room conditions. Glove colors, lighting, and sight lines vary. Some rooms may call for a specialized camera. Through our partnership with Orbbec, AirTouch also takes advantage of 3D depth sensing and IR cameras when a deployment calls for them, as covered on the Orbbec page.

• Privacy. Camera video is processed on the local workstation.

Is AirTouch a medical device?

AirTouch is computer input software. It sends mouse and keyboard events to your existing applications and does not process or interpret clinical images. It is not a medical device, and we make no clinical outcome claims.

Where to start

Start with one room and one physician who is tired of narrating. Book a demo and we will test against your environment. To try it on your own first, start a free trial.

Related: how surgeons review imaging without breaking scrub, gesture control for medical environments, and gesture control and hand tracking software.