Earlier this week two of my colleagues, Michael Porter and Ryan Duclos, each wrote blogs about the potential uses beyond gaming for the upcoming Xbox One. Micheal explored some of the possible uses in healthcare specifically, from gamification to surgical tool:
Better Healthcare because of Kinect
The HIT Consultant has a blog post on how XBox is transforming gamification in healthcare. His focus is on the fact that Kinect allows you to move and that moving is healthy. He also has a great quote on what the next version of Kinect will do.
During a presentation for the new Kinect, Microsoft showed off this feature and allowed the media to talk about it, as in these observations by Matt Hickey, shared by fellow Forbes contributor Dan Munro:
“10:23: It’s more sensitive, can read more data points of articulation [referring to the new Kinect camera]
10:23: The sensor can read your heartbeat
10:23: IT CAN READ YOUR HEARTBEAT”
Enough said about the obvious possibilities of sensors capturing key and ongoing data about your health. The consumerization of this is nice. My Dad pays a hefty price for a phone hooked up via bluetooth to a sensor that tracks his hear rate. Kinect in one or more rooms my do the same but for much less $$.
Kinect as a Surgical Device
Almost two years ago I walked into a hospital IT director’s office and saw the Xbox and Kinect just sitting there. He explained that it was a beta app for remote surgery. Well, one hospital in Canada has a video on what they did with Kinect.
So yes, there is a lot of potential for Xbox in Healthcare and Xbox One is bringing up to a new level.
The Xbox One, coupled with the Kinect, has the potential to get users moving and gamify their health. With the ability to read heart rate it could also translate into a quantified-self tracking tool. What other potential uses could the Xbox One provide to healthcare consumers and providers?
