Hardcore gamers may not be fully sold on Xbox Kinect yet, but hackers worldwide have done some truly amazing things with the device. Perhaps the most amazing of all is a Toronto hospital using the Kinect sensor in cancer surgery.

According to the article, Dr. Calvin Law at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is using the Kinect for "crucial patient imaging" without have to leave a sterilized area. The system has been used in six cases of liver cancer surgery in the last month alone.

Since the Kinect is entirely wireless, it means that there are no components at all to sterilze or make any physical contact with the patient. This opens up a lot of possibilities in life saving technologies. Ironic considering a lot of hospital tech costs thousands upon thousands of dollars, and yet a $150 so-called gaming accessory is the one leading the charge. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft gets into the healthcare solutions industry more seriously with news like this coming out.

Not to be outdone, Nintendo's Wii is commonly used in patient rehabilation in hospitals worldwide as well. Many of Sony's technologies and consumer products are prevalent in the healthcare industry as well.

It's interesting to think of video game technology saving lives while the political spectrum continues to bend itself over trying to legislate violent video games. Many claim that video games kill and incite violence, when they may be in fact saving more lives than are reported.

Now if only gamers could play something other than sports and dancing games with the Kinect...