Google Glass in Surgery
Marc H. F. Schreinemacher, Maurits Graafland, Marlies P. Schijven · Surgical Innovation · 2014
As a surgeon you have a unique and best view on the operating field. No resident or intern will experience that same look and feel before being at the wheel themselves. Now, imagine the benefits of seeing through the sur-geon’s eyes in this moment.Today, the implementation of a small camera, a screen, and audio capability in a spectacles’ frame (Google Glass, Google Inc, Mountain View, CA) could do just that and more; direct interaction and extended video recording capabilities will change the way we perform and teach medicine.On October 28, 2013, Dutch surgeon Marlies Schijven successfully communicated with the American surgeon Rafael Grossmann in what is known to be the first glass-to-glass consultation while performing an operation. At the time of operating, Grossmann was in a conference center miles away from Schijven, who was in the Academic Medical Center (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). The con-sultation was followed live at the conference center and worldwide via a broadcast on YouTube.com. It is a proof of concept showing how a surgeon or any other health care professional might consult with fellow specialists. This way, the physical barriers associated with an operating the-atre, different sites within hospitals or countries, or even a faraway battlefield may be quite easily overcome.Not only communication with other people but also the interaction with live information adds value to techni-cal devices such as these glasses. Patients’ charts (eg, incoming lab results, new radiology findings), patient monitoring data (eg, heart rate, oxygenation), equipment warning signs, or augmented reality overlays can be pre-sented to your eye without having to turn away from the patient.Besides direct interaction, the possibilities for video recording are hugely expanded. Current recording equip-ment is often static and intrusive in a clinical setting. Simply wearing a pair of spectacles will surely lower the bar for more frequent use. Yet most interesting are the newly offered points of view, literally. For instance, ask-ing your patient to wear a pair of spectacles gives you “the patient’s look” on yourself. No doubt, this is an invaluable source for feedback of which students and experienced physicians alike could benefit.Continuous recording or only a 30 minutes log (“black box”) are also of interest. When an unexpected situation has occurred during a procedure or consultation, the log can be reviewed and unknown or otherwise overseen rel-evant factors unveiled. An illustrated start for a cycle of improvement. In addition, the recording of these unex-pected situations might aid in legal matters.Admittedly, many of the device’s components and fea-tures are not entirely new on their own. Head mounted displays have been around for many years and hands-free calling is not much out of the ordinary either. Furthermore, head-mounted displays have already been proven to improve information processing by individuals in the operation room and enhance human visual capabilities.