Health IT, Hospitals

Surgeon uses Google Glass in the OR to share endoscopic surgery

When Dr. Rafael Grossman of Eastern Maine Medical Center decided to strap on GoogleGlass to […]

When Dr. Rafael Grossman of Eastern Maine Medical Center decided to strap on GoogleGlass to do the first surgical procedure using the technology, it highlighted yet another way to advance telemedicine. It can provide an innovative approach for surgeons and physicians teaching medicine, helping with consults and simulations, from their point of view.

The procedure involved inserting a feeding tube in a procedure called Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy. Grossman used Google Hangout and an iPad to transmit the surgery. Grossman described the procedure on his blog:

“I was able to show not just the patient’s abdomen, but also the endoscopic view, in a very clever, simple and inexpensive way. I think that there should be ways to directly stream the endoscopic view thru Google Glass ( My friend @Julianmb, also a Google Explorer, and his team of experts from @Droiders are working on that !)…”

For one thing laparascopic surgery is a relatively new requirement for surgical residents, so if GoogleGlass can be adapted for that it could help make teaching the procedure across a wide geographic area easier.

Telemedicine is a critical area that providers are adopting as a way of making healthcare more accessible to people who may lack the resources, particularly specialists in their community.

In an emailed statement Eastern Maine Medical Center said it was evaluating the use of Google Glass:

“When physicians bring forward new technology for potential application in patient care, we look carefully at the benefits and risks. That process is underway for Google Glass.”

The development should please Google Ventures , which launched the Glass Collective with Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers in April to invest in innovative companies putting Google Glass to good use.

Photo from Flickr user arselectronica]

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