Smart Glasses: Bringing Mission Impossible to the Hospital

Perhaps the biggest advance in healthcare IT innovation has been the inexorable evolution of mobile connectivity. The progressive technology drive has always been toward smaller (less obtrusive), faster, smoother, and safer devices. Nowhere is this more evident than in the jump from desktop PCs to laptops to tablets and finally smartphones, giving our hands greater freedom. And now we’re focusing on taking the next step: completely removing our hands from the equation. One ubiquitous example of progress in this direction is the introduction and wide adoption of voice-enabled technology like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, all of which are currently limited to audio input. The next step in this evolution involves adding visual input in the form of head-mounted cameras, visual output displays (tiny optical viewing screens or transparent heads-up displays), and wireless connectivity together defining the category of smart glasses. Typically, audio capability is present as well, and, increasingly, so is computer processing.

The most well-known of these devices is the seminal, highly publicized Google Glass. Staying true to the aphorism that necessity is the mother of invention, such wearable computer interface devices were conceived with specific use cases in mind. I’ll detail a few below, but, as with the introduction of any new technology, the number of creative applications will no doubt rapidly expand as product evolution advances.