As the need for on-demand diagnoses and personalized treatment evolves, augmented reality devices will join the clinician’s toolkit.
For healthcare professionals, wearable technology offers benefits across key operational areas.
- Hands-free documentation: Using smart glasses, clinicians can easily capture and store key patient data without the need for manual data entry.
- Telemedicine: Assessment and prescription at a distance means reduced wait times for patients and lowered risk for healthcare providers.
- EMR management: Automatic data recording means less time spent converting physical files to EMR-compliant formats.
- Rapid diagnostics: Access to second opinions — from human colleagues or AI algorithms — can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and speed.
- Education and training: AR glasses can facilitate in-depth training even when it’s not possible for staff to attend in person.
- Live broadcasting: Connected AR devices allow healthcare professionals to livestream and record key medical procedures for later training or assessment. Tools such as Vuzix smart glasses have already been used in situ to assist with surgeries such as knee replacement.
Smart glasses exist as part of the larger Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. As a result, they must be safely and effectively integrated with existing IT infrastructure to deliver benefits at scale.
Source: healthtechmagazine.net