Google Glass used in Medical Operations in India
India is the perfect place for Google Inc.’s wearable computer Google Glass, according to the first surgeon in the country to perform an operation wearing the optical device.
J.S. Rajkumar, a tech-savvy laparoscopic surgeon at the Lifeline Multi Speciality Hospital in the southern city of Chennai, on Tuesday carried out two operations wearing Glass, which uses a tiny, voice-controlled, Wi-Fi-enabled computer on the face.
He thinks that the Google Glass is a great medium to help doctors in rural India to gain practical knowledge from medical practitioners seated in remote locations.
Dr. Rajkumar, who wore the latest gadget in the operation theatre, performed a medical procedure to repair the patient’s simple hernia on September 19. Praising the gadget whole-heartedly, Dr. Rajkumar said: “We did two operations. One was laparoscopic and one was open. I wore the Google Glass and performed both the operations. See, the advantage of the Google Glass, I want to explain is not that it is a machine that will operate or anything like that. We used it to transmit the data from the operating field to our annexe, which is about 500 metres down the road, where a bunch of doctors, surgeons and medical students and press people were sitting,” he said.
"It felt like I was glancing at my rearview mirror while driving. I was focusing on the surgeries and talking to my students at the same time. At one point, I stopped feeling it was an external device," said Dr J S Rajkumar, chief surgeon of the hospital.
Besides being an educational tool, doctors say the technology could be used to view X-rays, MRI images and other medical information as they conduct surgeries. It could also be used to connect with doctors in far flung places, provided their internet connectivity is good.
"The gadget could help professionals access data and communicate with colleagues far away, while getting feedback to improve efficiency and quality of patient care. The possibilities are endless, but at the end of the day any gadget is only as good as the user," said Dr Sai Satish, consultant interventional cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals.
Mr. Rajkumar partnered with a Virginia-based mobile and cloud-based software applications firm–Nasotech LLC–to access Glass and develop an application that allows uninterrupted video streaming through the device for more than 30 minutes.
Nasotech is one of the few firms chosen by Google to test the gadget before its official release early next year.
"It's too early to celebrate this as a breakthrough in healthcare tools. Unless it is carefully vetted, it could be a disaster for patients," said Dr R Ravi Kumar, director, institute of cardiovascular disease, robotic surgery centre at Chettinad Health City.
He said operation theatres already had gadgets performing the same functions as Google Glass. "I use a camera attached to my head which is live-streamed to audiences in different parts of the world. So what makes this gadget special? We'll have to wait till it hits the market," said the doctor, adding that the price tag of $1,500 was too steep too expensive for many doctors.
J.S. Rajkumar, a tech-savvy laparoscopic surgeon at the Lifeline Multi Speciality Hospital in the southern city of Chennai, on Tuesday carried out two operations wearing Glass, which uses a tiny, voice-controlled, Wi-Fi-enabled computer on the face.
He thinks that the Google Glass is a great medium to help doctors in rural India to gain practical knowledge from medical practitioners seated in remote locations.
Dr. Rajkumar, who wore the latest gadget in the operation theatre, performed a medical procedure to repair the patient’s simple hernia on September 19. Praising the gadget whole-heartedly, Dr. Rajkumar said: “We did two operations. One was laparoscopic and one was open. I wore the Google Glass and performed both the operations. See, the advantage of the Google Glass, I want to explain is not that it is a machine that will operate or anything like that. We used it to transmit the data from the operating field to our annexe, which is about 500 metres down the road, where a bunch of doctors, surgeons and medical students and press people were sitting,” he said.
"It felt like I was glancing at my rearview mirror while driving. I was focusing on the surgeries and talking to my students at the same time. At one point, I stopped feeling it was an external device," said Dr J S Rajkumar, chief surgeon of the hospital.
Besides being an educational tool, doctors say the technology could be used to view X-rays, MRI images and other medical information as they conduct surgeries. It could also be used to connect with doctors in far flung places, provided their internet connectivity is good.
"The gadget could help professionals access data and communicate with colleagues far away, while getting feedback to improve efficiency and quality of patient care. The possibilities are endless, but at the end of the day any gadget is only as good as the user," said Dr Sai Satish, consultant interventional cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals.
Mr. Rajkumar partnered with a Virginia-based mobile and cloud-based software applications firm–Nasotech LLC–to access Glass and develop an application that allows uninterrupted video streaming through the device for more than 30 minutes.
Nasotech is one of the few firms chosen by Google to test the gadget before its official release early next year.
"It's too early to celebrate this as a breakthrough in healthcare tools. Unless it is carefully vetted, it could be a disaster for patients," said Dr R Ravi Kumar, director, institute of cardiovascular disease, robotic surgery centre at Chettinad Health City.
He said operation theatres already had gadgets performing the same functions as Google Glass. "I use a camera attached to my head which is live-streamed to audiences in different parts of the world. So what makes this gadget special? We'll have to wait till it hits the market," said the doctor, adding that the price tag of $1,500 was too steep too expensive for many doctors.
Google Glass used in Medical Operations in India
Reviewed by Ankit Kumar Titoriya
on
09:52
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Reviewed by Ankit Kumar Titoriya
on
09:52
Rating:
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