Clinical and surgical applications of smart glasses

Subtitle:

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mitrasinovic, Stefan^{a; c} | Camacho, Elvis^{a; h} | Trivedi, Nirali^a | Logan, Julia^a | Campbell, Colson^a | Zilinyi, Robert^{a; h} | Lieber, Bryan^d | Bruce, Eliza^{a; b} | Taylor, Blake^{a; b; h} | Martineau, David^e | Dumont, Emmanuel L.P.^f | Appelboom, Geoff^{a; b; *} | Connolly Jr., E. Sander^{a; b; g}

Affiliations: [a] Cerebrovascular Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA | [b] Department of Neurosurgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA | [c] University College London Medical School, London, UK | [d] Department of Neurosurgery, New York University, Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA | [e] Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Grandview Medical Center, Ohio University, Dayton, OH, USA | [f] The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute, Cornell Tech, New York, NY, USA | [g] Neuro-Intensive Care Unit, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA | [h] College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Geoff Appelboom, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, P&S 5-454, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel.: +1 212 305 4679; Fax: +1 212 305 5544; E-mail:ga@neuro-digital.com

Abstract: BACKGROUND: With the increased efforts to adopt health information technology in the healthcare field, many innovative devices have emerged to improve patient care, increase efficiency, and decrease healthcare costs. A recent addition is smart glasses: web-connected glasses that can present data onto the lenses and record images or videos through a front-facing camera. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we review the most salient uses of smart glasses in healthcare, while also denoting their limitations including practical capabilities and patient confidentiality. METHODS: Using keywords including, but not limited to, ``smart glasses'', ``healthcare'', ``evaluation'', ``privacy'', and ``development'', we conducted a search on Ovid-MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar. A total of 71 studies were included in this review. RESULTS: Smart glasses have been adopted into the healthcare setting with several useful applications including, hands-free photo and video documentation, telemedicine, Electronic Health Record retrieval and input, rapid diagnostic test analysis, education, and live broadcasting. CONCLUSIONS: In order for the device to gain acceptance by medical professionals, smart glasses will need to be tailored to fit the needs of medical and surgical sub-specialties. Future studies will need to qualitatively assess the benefits of smart glasses as an adjunct to the current health information technology infrastructure.

Keywords: Smart glasses, google glass, epson moverio, Meta-Pro spaceglasses, telemedicine, augmented reality, heads-up-display, Electronic Health Records

DOI: 10.3233/THC-150910

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 381-401, 2015