A group of Los Angeles pediatric surgeons is trying to spread the use of Google Glass to Africa, where the device could help surgeons there overcome limited resources.
Along with the Red Cross Children’s Hospital team, Dr. Phillip Frykma, Dr. Marc Levitt and Dr. Alp Numanoglu trained 18 surgeons from nine African countries on both best practices as well as how to find and work with proper equipment within their budget. Part of the training included showing the African surgeons a low-cost muscle stimulator for anorectal malformations, invented by Dr. Frykman and Dr. Keith Kimble now in commercial production.
Google Glass was used to record the placement of the device. Dr. Frykman also used Google Glass to record his operating room techniques. The footage will serve as training videos for the participating doctors to take back to their countries and health centers to train even more of their colleagues. The group of American physicians said it was the first time Google Glass has been used to record pediatric surgeries for training videos in Africa and the first time it was used on surgical missions.
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The trip was part of the Biennial Congress of the South African Pediatric Association in Cape Town. Mending Kids, a non-profit based in Los Angeles for which several of the doctors volunteer their pediatric surgical skills, sponsored the trip.
“Google Glass plays an integral role in the ongoing training efforts to achieve results,” Dr. Frykman said in a news release.
