Preliminary study of prehospital use of smart glasses

BACKGROUND: A smart glasses system is a computerized communicator with a transparent screen and video camera that can be worn as a pair of glasses. There have been no reports on the use of smart glasses in the prehospital setting. PURPOSE: To conduct a preliminary investigation on whether smart glasses were smoothly used bidirectionally between the prehospital setting and the receiving hospital. METHODS: From March 1, 2022, to March 31, 2022, one smart glasses unit was installed in an ambulance at one branch of the fire department near our hospital. The physician on the computer, who received video and voice transmission from the smart glasses when the ambulance was dispatched, evaluated the transmission status with regard to video reception, voice reception, and voice transmission. In addition, the activity time was compared between cases in which the smart glasses system was used (patient) and not used (control). RESULTS: During the investigating period, 12 cases were analyzed as patients. The rate of good video reception was 75%, the rate of good voice reception was 50%, and the rate of good voice transmission was 25%. There was no significant change in the activity time between the patient and control groups. CONCLUSION: We performed a preliminary investigation on the usability of smart glasses in the prehospital setting. Using smart glasses, patient information was shared by video and voice before arrival at the hospital, and did not affect the activity time. However, the instability of the communication status should be recognized.