Google Glass Used In Care Of Trauma Patients
By Julia Ernst, contributing writer
Trauma surgeons at Forbes Hospital will be using the technology to access checklists and prompts during resuscitation procedures.
Surgeons in the trauma center at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, PA have begun a pilot program to determine if Google Glass technology can be utilized when caring for critically injured patients.
Google Glass is a wearable, head-mounted technology featuring an optical, head-mounted display which provides information to the individual wearing the technology in a hands-free, smartphone-like format. In this initial program, surgeons in the trauma center at Forbes Hospital are using Google Glass to access checklists and prompts during resuscitation procedures on trauma patients.
Surgeons will also be utilizing new Google Glass technology called Visual Info Zonal Reminder (VIZR), which features information on a breadth of traumatic injuries. For example, if a pregnant patient with abdominal injuries is being brought in to the emergency department, the surgeon can use a voice command to access a checklist with questions to ask paramedics upon arrival – or even prior to arrival, according to a news release on the pilot program. Once a physician initiates a patient program, the system starts a timer that provides prompts and reminders to the trauma team every few minutes.
The VIZR technology is being used exclusively at Forbes Hospital, the news release continues.
The software for this pilot program was adapted from military checklists that are used to triage wounds on the battlefield. The premise of using Google Glass at Forbes Hospital is to keep physicians on track as they care for single or multiple patients with life-threatening injuries, the news release notes.
The Google Glass technology has been modified for use at Forbes Hospital so it cannot record photos or videos to ensure patient privacy is not compromised.
Forbes Hospital is a 349-bed facility in Monroeville that is part of the Allegheny Health Network. The hospital features the area's only certified Chest Pain and Stroke Centers and offers care in numerous other specialties, including dermatology, gastroenterology, and more.
SOURCE: Allegheny Health Network