Using Wii-mote for medical scanning

30 Jul 2009

NUS researchers from the School of Computing, in collaboration with the Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, have devised a medical imaging software which uses the Nintendo Wii gaming system remote (or the Wii-mote) for radiology examination.

Asst Prof Michael S Brown and graduate student Mr Lu Zheng from the NUS Department of Computer Science, together with Asst Prof of Radiology George Shih of the Weill Cornell Medical Center, worked on the prototype.

The use of Wii-mote proves to be more ergonomic as compared to the traditional use of the keyboard and mouse, as it decreases the possibility of repetitive motion injuries for radiologists. In addition, the new system can also be used in radiology lectures for training purposes.

Asst Prof Michael S. Brown said: "Although not particularly challenging from an algorithmic point of view, it took several iterations working with Prof Shih to have a prototype that could be tested by radiologists."

"The response from the radiologists at Cornell has exceeded our expectations. I think this is a really good example of projects that are not necessarily sophisticated when compared to cutting- edge computer science research, can also make a significant impact in other fields when designed appropriately," he noted.

On the collaboration, Asst Prof George Shih said: "We have really enjoyed working with NUS on this project. The medical field will benefit significantly from working with Computer Science researchers with world-class expertise such as Prof Brown and Lu Zheng."

Asst Prof Shih added that in the near future, he will be working on other projects with Prof Brown as he has a talented group of graduate students on his team.