Kinected HealthIT?
blog.carecloud.com
blog.carecloud.com
The patient routing functions described in the article could more easily and cheaply be done using RFID tag technology. Basic data collection could be done by the patient walking across a scale in a doorway, and placing a hand in a (new) device that could take temperature, and blood pressure, as well as blood and sweat samples. This all needs to be connected to a network but it doesn't require more expensive visual recognition technology.
As for recognizing what a doctor is doing by watching I find that more wishful thinking than practical. Sure it would be cool but I don't see it being the most economically feasible given the complexities involved
The Kinect would surely add an interesting twist on augmenting all of that data.
I've been hacking on a project like that -- WiiScale is a Mac app that sends your weight (captured from a Wii BalanceBoard) to Google Health. Since it knows your height, it gives a realtime visualization of your BMI while you're on the scale.
Video/Download here: http://snosrap.com/wiiscale/ Source: http://code.google.com/p/wiiscale/
A quick search showed that there are standards that cover this and include infrared light (see http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidanc... for more information).
Are there other commercially available cameras that already do this out 'in the wild' (ie am I already hit with these daily, I just don't know it)?
What are the health implications of it (if any)?
I don't think it's a problem unless you get into significant intensities, as per a >1 mW laser.