During our ideation-phase we discovered severel problematic areas in the field of surgery. The most interesting one for us is the use of non-sterile equipment in a sterile environment. After analysing the data we gathered we discovered that the feet don’t have to be sterile and therefore can be used to control the devices.
We came up with the idea of a central foot-controlled touchpad with voice control, the mediOPad, to select the different features of different devices. To enable the voice control you simply double tap and state your desire, e.g. “Light”, “Call person X” or “Cursor” to show a cursor on your screen, if you want to point something out to your colleagues. If someone calls you during operation, you can accept or decline the call by swiping your foot left or right, without having to use voice control first. All of these tasks previously required a stand-by man.
We think this concept will dramatically simplify a doctor’s workflow.
