The last place you'd expect to see a Kinect is on an operating table, but the device could be the ideal way for doctors to consult medical images during complicated procedures.

Last week a surgeon at the Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in London started using a new system that relies on an Xbox Kinect camera. The surgeon was able to wave his arms, or make other simple gestures, in order to quickly and easily browse through medical images, instead of asking his colleagues to find them for him.

According to New Scientist, surgeons generally need to stop what they're doing and look through detailed images anywhere from once an hour to every few minutes during a procedure. Many depend on assistants and nurses to hold up images or use a computer to find the information they need, but we can imagine this is a lengthy and rather frustrating process.

Tom Carrell, a consultant vascular surgeon working at Guy's and St Thomas', who helped lead the operation, said:

"Up until now, I'd been calling out across the room to one of our technical assistants, asking them to manipulate the image, rotate one way, rotate the other, pan up, pan down, zoom in, zoom out [...] I had very intuitive control".

Carrell was able to use the Kinect to look at a 3D model, which was then projected as a 2D live image-feed onto the patient. This way the doctor can see what's happening inside the patient and look at the 3D model simultaneously.

In order to make the whole process as quick and easy as possible, Carrell and his colleagues have been working with the Microsoft team to develop gestures that they can perform in small spaces during an operation. So, medical professionals can now use simple gestures with one hand at the same time as a voice command to access the information they need.

[Via New Scientist]

Related: The Kinect is being used to detect signs of autism in children

The popular Pictionary / Words With Friends hybrid Draw Something amassed more than 50 million users in a matter of weeks and a large proportion of our lives in March were spent trying to think of the funniest ways to doodle Bieber and dandruff. However, as we predicted last month, it seems hardly any of us are actively playing with it anymore. Awh.

Despite gaining a huge following in a record-breaking amount of time, according to a recent study, more than half of the Brits who were addicted to Draw Something a month ago now play less than once a week.

The research carried out by discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk polled more than 1,000 users and found that 54% log in to play the app less than once a week now, when back in April the study found most people spend at least 10 to 30 minutes perfecting their drawing (or should we say chubby finger doodling) skills.

MyVoucherCodes.co.uk wanted to get to the bottom of why people are suddenly so sick of the app and 47% of those polled said it was because the novelty had worn off, whilst 31% said they were just "bored" of it. We also think it's because there just wasn't enough variety, you can only draw hot sauce and Jordan's breasts so many times before you start to lose the will to live.

Although it may seem sad to mourn the death of an app that held such a special place in our hearts our bosses certainly aren't as upset. Back in April two thirds of Draw Something users admitted to playing the game during work hours, but we're sure Facebook stalking, the logo game and more excessive tweeting can easily fill that void.

[Image via Draw Something Pro]

Kinect motion sensors are being used by a school in Minneapolis to identify the early signs of autism in young children.

Over the past few years we've seen the Kinect's innovative technology being hacked in countless ways, whether it's to make your room a touchscreen, talk to your pet when you're away, create a robot that dances around, flush a toilet so you don't have to or even to peel off your own skin and take a peek at what's underneath.

Now although we don't doubt some of these hacks are pretty damn clever and handy (who wants to flush a toilet themselves when a computer can do it for them?!), the Kinect has also been put to work on a number of projects that could have a positive impact on healthcare, treatment and the way we diagnose illnesses in the future.

Over the past few months a school in Minneapolis has been using a number of Kinect motion sensors to watch the movements children make as they play and learn in an attempt to work out whether they may show early signs of autism.

Researchers at the Shirley G. Moore Laboratory School have positioned the gaming sensors all around the classroom in order to record the children's movements as they play. These recordings are then combined with a series of computer-vision algorithms, that are specially designed to detect abnormalities and flag up the individuals that are moving and behaving differently to the rest.

Although it's still in its infancy, the system could help us identify behavioural problems in children much earlier than we would using modern day methods, meaning teachers and parents can give them the care they need right away.

Guillermo Sapiro, who along with a larger team has helped to develop the system, said:

"The idea is not that we are going to replace the diagnosis, but we are going to bring diagnosis to everybody [...] The same way a good teacher flags a problem child, the system will do automatic flagging and say, 'Hey, this kid needs to see an expert'."

[Via New Scientist Image via Emily Goodstein]

The Pictionary / Words With Friends hybrid Draw Something has exploded over the past six weeks with more than 30 million (yes, million) of us using our chubby little fingers to scribble rubbish pictures of Lady Gaga, dandruff and iPads.

So, we thought it'd be a good time to collect together a few more of our favourite new games for you to happily waste away your afternoon, whether you're a Facebook, iPad or mobile gamer.

Everyday we see new websites, apps and online tools specially built to allow regular people with little experience to try their hand at music creation, whether it's a basic app designed for kids or a much more advanced programme for genuine wannabes.

Well now a basic but addictive form of music creation has come to Facebook, with new social game Songster. Like all Facebook games, you log-in to your account and away you go, you can choose different styles of music and then mash instruments, vocals and other tracks together to create something pretty unique.

As you'd expect, you can then share tracks, connect with other players and even play your creations at virtual gigs, which may be a bit far-fetched, but is bound to appeal to the dedicated social gaming community who prefer the land of Facebook than the land of the living.

The game has been created by start-up Mowgli and the founder and CEO, Marshall Seese, told Mashable:

"As a musician, I'm really passionate about people connecting through music [...] So I wanted to enable anyone to make great songs, not just sounds. Social gaming seemed like a great fit because it embraces user creation."

The controls and songs you create are all pretty basic, don't expect to mix together something that sounds professional with Songster, but that's why it's so appealing to newbies. For social gamers looking for something a little more interesting than a fake farm (do people still REALLY play Farmville?!) or children wanting to spend their time online a little more productively, it could well be a hit.

[Via Mashable]

To bring a bit of cute, retro fun to iPad gaming, ThinkGeek has this week unveiled its latest product, the iCade 8-Bitty controller.

YES, it's only for the geekiest of gamers, but we're tired of jamming our hands onto touch screens and sometimes just want it to be like it was in the old days, but with iPads and iPhones, obviously.

The iCade 8-Bitty works wirelessly, has a classic D-Pad and button layout like the NES gamepad and it's powered by two AAA batteries. Ah batteries, remember those?!

It works with a huge range of top retro games, like favourites Atari Classics collection, Pac Man and Super Mega Worm. Developers of both iOS and Android games will be happy to learn that they can tap into the public API specification to make their creations compatible with the new controller a little further down the line too.

You can get the 8-Bitty from ThinkGeek for $24.99.

Most people are reluctant to collect together and trade-in old electronics, games and software because they think it's a lot of effort for a relatively small reward. However, according to a new study the average gamer has more than £100 worth of unused games lying around that could be cashed in.

The research carried out by video game marketplace Playr2.com found that the average gamer has £135 worth of video games they'll never use again stashed away in ther home.

Most of the self-confessed gamers that were polled admitted to having traded-in or sold unwanted games in the past, but said they rarely keep on top of just how much money they could be making back from the rejects.

Simon Kilby, Founder of Playr2.com, said:

"We've all got games in our collection that just sit collecting dust; whether it be because we've completed them, got the latest franchise release or simply didn't like them in the first place. To ignore them is to flush money down the drain though, as the value in unused games can be significantly more that you'd expect, and you could end up making a pretty penny if you were to sell them on."

1,012 gamers took part in the poll in January 2012.

[Image via The D34N]

There are lots of mobile apps on the market designed to keep us motivated, track our runs and spur us on to beat that personal best time. We're big fans of Nike+ GPS because it's so simple to use, the interface is intuitive and the GPS tracking really accurately records your runs. However, if you find it hard to workout then a simple app might not motivate you to get down to the gym or out onto the roads, which is where Zombies, Run! comes in, a crazy (but very clever) new running game for your mobile that's guaranteed to have you running as fast as you can...

The basic premise behind the new game is that zombies are chasing you, so you've got to run as fast as you can to get away from them before they (presumably) maul you. The game, which will be available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android, delivers the scary zombie chasing story straight to your headphones and gives you orders and voice recordings to make it all the more realistic. How. Creepy.

The story is very similar to the likes of 28 Days Later or I Am Legend, you're running for your life away from zombies and creating a little den at home with supplies and the random food you can find. You can automatically collect these all important items, like medicine and ammo, as you're running around, so it's like you're inside a video game the whole time.

The great thing about Zombies, Run! is you don't have to sprint away outside (even though the game will make you want to) you can use it on a walk or on a treadmill too, but it won't be as authentic, obviously. Although listening to the audio is central to the whole game, you can also set your own playlist to play too in between the scary bits.

The game also keeps track of all the more important and serious stuff, like distance, time, pace and the calories you've burned. All of that info can then be synced with RunKeeper, so there's a central place to keep track of your runs, which is great if you get into Zombies, Run! but don't want to have to descend into a world of flesh-eating monsters every time you go out.

There are all kinds of examples of clever technology being used to transport us into exciting games as ways to motivate us to work out and keep us entertained, but there's just something so hilarious, terrifying and genius about Zombies, Run! that has us convinced it's going to be very, very popular.

Zombies, Run! isn't available quite yet, but you should be able to get your hands on it at some point in the next few months. We really can't wait!

[Via Connected Health Via @SianySianySiany]

A lot of exciting Nintendo news has been revealed this week, as well as giving us all some of the details about the Nintendo Network online community features, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata confirmed new capabilities were being added to the tablet-like controller of the upcoming Wii U console.

At the top of the list of these new and advanced features is NFC (or Near Field Communication) technology, the kind of standard we're used to seeing in many new smart phones (like Blackberry) and in London's Oyster Card transport payment system. Basically, allows the transfer of information just by putting two NFC-enabled devices close to each other, so it's being used as a way to share information, pay for stuff and enhance entertainment experiences.

Satoru Iwata said:

"By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world.

"Adoption of this functionality will enable various other possibilities such as using it as a means of making micropayments."

As of yet no date has been placed on the release of the Wii U, Nintendo yesterday revealed that they are on track for a Q4 2012 (October-December) release date, but we'll keep you posted.

Our experience with the record-breaking NES game controller last week has had us pining for the retro consoles of days gone by. So, we were really interested in the results from a recent study, which aimed to find out what the nation's favourite retro games console really is...

Although every individual obviously has their console of choice and will happily argue for days about why it's the best, it seems most gamers prefer the SEGA Mega Drive over any other retro console. Ooo controversial. And, as that was my first ever gaming console too (Alex the Kid anyone?), I'd have to agree.

According to the study carried out by video game price comparison site Playr2.com, the SEGA Mega Drive managed to just take the top spot over the Nintendo 64 when 1,411 self-confessed gamers were asked which console released before 2000 (wow, does that make it 'retro'?!) they liked the best.

Here are all of the (very close) results:

1) SEGA Mega Drive- 61%
2) Nintendo 64- 58%
3) Atari 2600- 55%
4) PlayStation (original)- 51%
5) Game Boy (original) - 48%
6) Super Nintendo Entertainment System - 43%
7) Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) - 38%
8) SEGA Game Gear- 37%
9) Neo-Geo - 31%
10) SEGA Master System- 28%

Obviously the study only asked 1,411 people, so it's not like it's conclusive or by any means really the nation's favourite, but it's interesting to see the battle between SEGA and Nintendo rage on and on...

The study polled 1,411 British people in 2012.

Today Shiny Shiny and our sister site Tech Digest went along to London's Liverpool Street Station to get some hands-on time with the daddy of all retro controllers. Read more about our (potentially) record breaking Tetris game and our interview with British electrical engineering student Ben Allen who put together the huge NES...

The Guinness World Record for the largest videogame controller on the planet has been broken! British electrical engineering student Ben Allen along with co-creators Stephen van 't Hof and Michel Verhulst put together a gigantic 12ft x 5ft 3 in x 1ft 8 in, 18 stone NES controller to take the title, a joypad so big it needs two people to operate!

"The idea basically came from a brainstorm," said Allen.

"We were sitting around between lectures having a chat and a coffee, someone came up with the NES idea and we ran with it. From the conception to the completion of the controller took about six months, and after spending a lot of time planning, the actual build took about four weeks. There were lots of late nights, and lots of not sleeping! In fact, I even fell asleep on the controller for about half an hour one night!"

Showcasing the achievement at London's Liverpool Street Station, Tech Digest and Shiny Shiny got some hands-on time with the daddy of all retro controllers. Though it takes some getting used to, the oversize buttons responded really well, pushing back against our hands with a satisfyingly spongy feel. Together we managed a respectable 67 lines on the NES version of Tetris, a potential record in itself on the unique controller.

The event was held in order to promote the release of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2012, which also features other quirky gaming records like "Longest Gaming Session in Free-Fall" and "Largest Competitive Pokémon Videogame Family". We can't begin to imagine what the conversation around that family dinner table must be like!

"We've been burning the midnight oil like ninjas for the 2012 Gamer's Edition: witnessing record attempts, talking to developers and playing as many videogames as we could handle." said Guinness World Records Gaming Editor, Gaz Deaves.

"Gamers all over the world can finally get their hands on the result of our hard labour, and this year's book packed with all the amazing records, facts and feats that they have a right to expect from Guinness World Records."

Out on Thursday 19th January, the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2012 will be available from all good bookstores. And some rubbish ones too!

Lots of excited kids (and teens and adults of course) will probably be finding a games console under the Christmas tree this year, but with so many different options available, which is set to be the most popular?

Well, according to discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, Microsoft's Xbox 360 is enjoying the most number of searches on the site so far, with the PS3 coming in second:

1. Microsoft Xbox 360 - 45% of searches
2. PS3 - 19% of searches
3. Nintendo Wii - 15% of searches
4. Nintendo DS - 12% of searches
5. Nintendo 3DS - 8% of searches

Of course this data doesn't necessarily mean the Xbox 360 will be crowned King of Christmas, but search patterns are generally pretty indicative of consumer buying behaviour. We shall have to wait and see come Christmas morning...

Yesterday Shiny Shiny headed down to London's Trocadero arcade with our sister site Tech Digest to try out the world's first eye-controlled arcade game, Eye Asteroids.

Basically you stand in front of the very normal looking retro arcade game and after a quick calibration test you shoot the asteroids that threaten to destroy your planet just by looking at them. We know, we know, it doesn't sound real but it is and it's surprisingly accurate too.

The game works by using an infra-red sensor just below the screen to track the reflections on the surface of your eye, as well as the minute changes in pupil size, to control the direction of your laser blasts.

Eye Asteroids is a game in its own right too, not just some rubbish planet moving around with no purpose. Although we were told you could score more than 1000 points by shooting all the asteroids and we got up to around 60. Oh well...

Eye Asteroids was created by Tobii, a company which specialises in developing eye-tracking solutions. Despite the fact this technology sounds like something from a sci-fi film, Anders Olsson from Tobii told us that this kind of super accurate and lightning fast eye-tracking could soon play an integral role in the way we use our computers and gaming consoles. The technology behind Eye Asteroids isn't just revolutionary for gaming either, but also has obvious applications for those living with disabilities.

Tobii Eye Asteroids is available for purchase by companies and individuals, but is limited to a production run of just 50 units, available for $15,000 each. Now that'd be one big Christmas present.

Tobii's Anders Olsson talks Gerald from Tech Digest through the technology, and his hopes for the future of eye-controlled gaming, in the video above.

Due to the excitement surrounding last week's highly anticipated release of Batman: Arkham City, it's clear that games based on big film franchises (and comic books too of course, but that's a different article) are increasingly popular despite some gamers finding them a little contrived at times.

A new study conducted by gaming comparison service Playr2 aimed to find out which was the ULTIMATE video game based on a film according to more than 1,100 gamers (they could select more than one answer). Transformers: Dark of the Moon clinched the top spot, even if the film was a bit disappointing. Some older games, like Goldeneye 007, interestingly ranked pretty highly too, making it into Playr2's top 10 list.

Check out the list for yourself and see where your favourite movie-based game ranks:

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 33%
2. Batman: Arkham Asylum- 31%
3. Goldeneye 007- 27%
4. Aliens vs. Predator- 25%
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed- 22%
6. Quantum of Solace - 18%
7. Spider -man 3- 16%
8. Tron: Evolution - 15%
9. The Godfather- 12%
10. The Lord of the Rings: Conquest- 9%

I've tried to get my eyes used to them on numerous occasions, but wow do 3D games and movies make me feel travel sick.

Considering everything is becoming 3D nowadays, I accepted the fact that maybe I just have a weird, messed up head/brain/pair of eyes but it seems I'm not the only one that gets sick of 3D from time to time (OK all of the time). Not only was there all kinds of controversy when Nintendo launched its 3DS device earlier in the year and gamers felt a bit too queasy, but a new study has proved that even hardcore gamers are apprehensive about the new consoles that are rumoured to be 3D enabled.

The study recently conducted by games comparison marketplace Playr2.com of more than 1,000 self confessed gamers found that over half wouldn't be in favour of more consoles adopting 3D technology, which is a pretty big deal considering that the next reincarnation of Microsoft's Xbox games console, known as Xbox 720, may well be 3D enabled.

Although the possibility of 3D enabled games doesn't seem to put the same bunch off too much, with 65% of them saying they're still likely to buy Xbox 720 regardless of any irritating new features it may or may not have.

[Image via]

We wrote about cutesy social game Me to You My Place back in December and thought it was time we revisited it to see how it has done.

Created by the gift card company behind the twee characters Tatty Puppy and the My Blue Nose Friends, you might have thought it strange that they so wholeheartedly embraced social media and everything that goes with it - their livelihood has for a long time been based around snail mail and not quick messages across the internet.

But embraced it Carte Blanche Greetings did, and with much success. Since its launch in December the adventure game, its objective being to "find, nurture and love the Friends", has had over 150,000 players on Facebook with the large online community interacting and sharing away within the game.

The Facebook version of Me to You My Place has been so popular that it has now expanded it beyond Facebook to enable people of all ages can take part in a safe and educational environment (you still have 'officially' to be over 13 to join Facebook). The new hub, metoyoumyplace.com, launched this week and offers fans the chance to play the game for free or through a subscription based membership to unlock premium content.

As part of the extension, Carte Blance is also introducing a new character, Tatty Puppy, to the Me to You family. The pup is available to buy as a real-life soft toy with a code that lets its owners unlock the virtual Tatty Puppy in the game.

"With the launch of metoyoumyplace.com Carte Blanche Greetings has successfully taken a 15 year old physical presence and made it even more digitally relevant, truly giving its dedicated following a space to claim for themselves and continue to enjoy the brand both offline and online," says Jocasta Kelsey, Head of Marketing at Carte Blanche Greetings.

With all the negativity around in the world these days, it has actually been quite enjoyable to spend some time digging for treasures and playing games with the tiny digital teddies. What do you think?

Interesting words from gaming expert Kam of Playgen about the recent craze for gamification that is sweeping start-ups and the tech-press.

Kam warned at a recent Silicon Roundabout meeting in London that gamification can be done in a gimmicky way that adds little to the whole experience and can actually take away from it. You don't want to be given a gold star on your facebook page for paying your council tax, but you might like a prompt payment discount.

If you're new to the term - it means what it sounds like: adding game-like elements to a task or web-service. Games can be compelling and rewarding experiences so the idea is that adding one into your product or website makes it all more fun!

Your tax return - FUN!
Your maths homework - FUN!
Putting rubbish in the bin - fun etc.

Usually making something more like a game means working in some kind of goal, some kind of measure of progression, and some kind of reward.

It's the reward bit that often goes wrong when people try to gamify.

Erm - he wasn't telling us The Answer (because, obviously, there isn't a catch-all one) but he did say:

"Games need points. The point has to be meaningful. Getting a point for something you were going to do anyway which cannot be exchanged for anything, is not a good reward system.

"Ideally it has to be useful back in the real world too."

Another gem of wisdom from his speech: good games are "10% game design, 90% psychology".

Think about it guys, think about it.

Get epic game World of Warcraft for free from now, as the classic online game switches to a freemium model.

Previously £7.99 a month, the first 20 levels of the game will be free as of now. And the first 20 levels is a sizeable chunk - that's a good month or two's solid gaming.

Freemium models - the try it and see approach - has been super successful online. Often giving users the incentive they need to get hooked. World of Warcraft also monetises itself by selling in-game magic objects and advantages like honor leveling.

Get a starter account here

It looks like open season on gaming groups. Following a bad run of luck for Sony, now Nintendo has come under attack from hackers.

Nintendo has confirmed a server for a website for its US division has been hacked this weekend, but the company told the Wall Street Journal no sensitive data was compromised. This means the attack is less severe than that on Sony's PlayStation Network, which saw details belonging to 100 million users exposed.

Nintendo launches a new online service this week, where users can buy and download games for the 3DS games console.

"We are always working to make sure our systems are secure," said Nintendo spokesman Ken Toyoda. Sony is also working on this issue, after the group was attacked by hacking group Lulzsec only last week. Judging from the uptick in attacks, it looks like gaming groups could find it prudent to increase security efforts across the board.

Playstation online faced a wave of traffic today as it finally got back online. Hundreds of thousands of Playstation users logged on this morning as the service got back online just under a month after it was taken off after a hack on 17th April.

The numbers of people trying to get back in resulted in a sticky restart with slow service and a hiccup where it was taken offline again briefly. All users have been asked to reset their passwords.

The culprits still remain to be caught. See our coverage of Who's Behind the Hack:

- Sony Chaos: Credit card details of PlayStation owners lost to hackers - internet's revenge on Sony could take the company down
- The Sony Hack: Who did it and why? UPDATED
- Sony Hack: Anonymous may not control the soliders... but they drew the battlelines

See more on Sony Playstation UK