Trauma surgeons at Forbes Hospital is now using Google Glass to integrate prompts during trauma patient resuscitation to treat critically injured patients. Utilizing the software solution called Visual Info Zonal Reminder (VIZR) developed by Alex Guerrero, MD, a trauma surgeon from New York features information on a wide range of traumatic injuries.
How It Works
Once a patient program is initiated, a timer begins that provides important prompts and reminders to the trauma team every few minutes. For example, if a pregnant patient with injuries to the abdomen is in transport to the emergency department, the surgeon can voice command a checklist with crucial questions to ask the EMS upon arrival or even prior to arrival. Forbes Hospital is the first and only hospital in the country using the VIZR solution with Glass.
“One of the keys to trauma surgery is to maintain situational awareness, not losing track of what’s going on in the room,” said Christoph R. Kaufmann, MD, Trauma Medical Director, Forbes Hospital. “With this new technology, surgeons will have hands-free, immediate access to critical information, checklists and reminders specific to injury categories that will greatly assist in our efforts to provide effective, timely care that saves lives,” said Kaufmann.
To maintain HIPAA compliance, the solution has been modified so it does not record photos or videos in the hospital setting.
“I think this will be generalizable to other specialties in the future, but trauma surgeons are the fighter pilots of medicine. We have the most intense job with the most time sensitive nature and with the most technology applied,” says Kaufmann (Baily/NextPittsburgh/2/12/15).
