Hands-Free Interface using Breath for Robot-Assisted Operation

In this paper, we propose a novel hands-free interface for robot-assisted operation. Surgeons use both hands during surgery, making difficult for them to operate the display. However, by using a modality other than the hands to operate the display, the surgeon can check the necessary information for the operation in real time. Therefore, we developed a system that recognizes breath from the temperature change on the mask surface. Then, we compared the proposed system with a directly recognized breath method. Consequently, the proposed method had the same performance as directly recognized breath method and minimized the risk of contamination. We believe that the application of our developed system will contribute to the improvement of safety and efficiency in the medical field.