[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/3022534-inline-s-6-a-surgeons-review-of-google-glass-in-the-operating-room.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Glass has been out long enough and used widely enough in the health/medical area to have some meaningful reviews. The hot area seems to be surgery, and having previewed this at the end of a minimally invasive hernia surgery during Heather Evans, MD’s talk at the NYeC Digital Health Conference [TTA 16 Nov; also her AAS article], this Editor knew more were to come. University of California-San Francisco formally received the first approval from the Institutional Review Board to use Glass during surgeries (iHealthBeat 27 Nov). Pierre Theodore, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at UCSF, prior to that point performed 10 to 15 surgeries with Glass assistance. From a longer article in Fast Company: “His conclusion so far: the technology is indeed useful in the operating room as an adjunct device in delivering necessary information, but it still has miles to go as a product.” Other drawbacks are its dependence on an optimal Wi-Fi signal which can be chancy in an OR, its weakness on voice commands, being able to easily scan X-rays during surgery, patient privacy and very importantly, sanitization. Completely hands-free operation is the surgeon’s goal. (Photo of Dr. Theodore courtesy of Fast Company)