Available online 24 October 2019, 103316
Abstract
Feet
input can support mid-air hand gestures for touchless medical image
manipulation to prevent unintended activations, especially in sterile
contexts. However, foot interaction has yet to be investigated in dental
settings. In this paper, we conducted a mixed methods research study
with medical dentistry professionals. To this end, we developed a
touchless medical image system in either sitting or standing
configurations. Clinicians could use both hands as 3D cursors and a
minimalist single-foot gesture vocabulary to activate manipulations.
First, we performed a qualitative evaluation with 18 medical dentists to
assess the utility and usability of our system. Second, we used
quantitative methods to compare pedal foot-supported hand interaction
and hands-only conditions next to 22 medical dentists. We expand on
previous work by characterizing a range of potential limitations of
foot-supported touchless 3D interaction in the dental domain. Our
findings suggest that clinicians are open to use their foot for simple,
fast and easy access to image data during surgical procedures, such as
dental implant placement. Furthermore, 3D hand cursors, supported by
foot gestures for activation events, were considered useful and easy to
employ for medical image manipulation. Even though most clinicians
preferred hands-only manipulation for pragmatic purposes, feet-supported
interaction was found to provide more precise control and, most
importantly, to decrease the number of unintended activations during
manipulation. Finally, we provide design considerations for future work
exploring foot-supported touchless interfaces for sterile settings in
Dental Medicine, regarding: interaction design, foot input devices, the
learning process and camera occlusions.
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