The use of Google Glass in hospital and medical treatment facilities poses big promise as it can provide real-time communications, access to data as needed and insight through collaboration with remote physicians and medical experts. But, as one pediatric surgeon revealed in a recent commentary for Everyday Health, Glass has some shortcomings that require improvement.
Oliver Muensterer of Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York, has experimented with Google Glass during pediatric surgeries. While he attested to some terrific aspects--such as the ability to tap remote experts during procedures, accessing data in real-time treatment scenarios and giving advice to medical students in a telecommute situation--he also noted some drawbacks, including limited battery life and poor audio.
Muensterer also experienced transmission latency issues and noted that data and images can be inadvertently housed unprotected in a cloud environment if online connectivity is active.
Muensterer's feedback comes as Glass' use in healthcare continues to grow. For instance, a Glass pilot at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's emergency department is set to expand.
Still, tech challenges remain for the technology as a healthcare tool. A study in February reported Glass' image capabilities need improvement.
Nevertheless, Muensterer remains excited about Glass' potential.
"[F]uture improvements and the availability of special medical apps will almost certainly make this a very practical device for medical practitioners," he said.
For more information:
- read the commentary
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