Some of us may have already heard of Google Glass, the eyewear that includes a computer for recording video, among other things. Inevitably, Google Glass has entered the operating room. Doctors are using the recording surgeries for teaching purposes, and for their own learning and consultation.

A recent article in the New York Times details this. Read it here:

[Google Glass Enters the Operating Room][1]

Not only can the video recording be helpful teaching and learning after the surgery, but in the operating room surgeons have found it to be helpful. This can include accessing a patient’s medical information without turning away from the patient, such as previous x-rays and CT scans, and also images taken laparoscopically during the same surgery. Prior to Google Glass, a surgeon would have to look on a monitor or screen across the room. Now the images can be right in front of you.

There are some risks to using the devices. This can include “perceptual blindness” or tunnel vision, where surgeons are more likely to miss key information outside of their focus. And as with any internet accessible device, a patient’s private medical information is potentially at risk. Internet connectivity should therefore be disabled while operating.

The article seems to intimate that the plusses of such technology outweigh the minuses, and it’s a matter of time before Google Glass surgeons will be part of the mainstream.

Ask your surgeon if Google Glass is right for you…

[1]: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/google-glass-enters-the-operating-room/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 “Google Glass Enters the Operating Room”