Google Glass has many uses, and now we can add surgery to the list. Two doctors at Indiana Hospital have performed the first surgery with Glass, an abdominal wall reconstruction. The reason for using Glass during surgery was as unique as the news of its use.


The doctors wanted to access the patient’s MRI and x-ray while performing the surgery. By using the voice commands in Glass, the two doctors — Dr. Paul Szotek and Dr. Jeff Browne — could access the needed material without having to stop surgery. The ability to overlay scans likely gave the doctors a better idea of what they were trying to accomplish, all without taking their hands or eyes off the patient.

Dr. Szotek says Glass could transform the way they work in the future. “I really think this could transform both what we do and how we do it” he said, and also touted additional uses for Glass. “Imagine the time we could save if emergency response personnel could capture live images and videos of serious injuries at the scene of an accident and send them to surgeons at a trauma center who could assess the injuries and interact with the responders in real-time”. Real-time access in a life-or-death situation is never bad.

Though we tend to concentrate on the consumer advantages of Glass, situations like these are hard to ignore. Both in real situations like the surgery, or the other scenarios Dr. Szotek imagines, Glass may have a bright future in the medical field. The quick access to medical scans and history alone might be enticing enough.

VIA: IU Health

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