Qualitative Study of Surgeons Using a Wearable Personal Assistant in Surgeries and Ward Rounds

In this paper, we report on the utility of a wearable personal assistant (WPA) for orthopedic surgeons in hospitals. A prototype of the WPA was developed on the Google Glass platform for supporting surgeons in three different scenarios: (1) touch-less interaction with medical images in surgery room, (2) tele-presence colleague consultation during surgeries, and (3) mobile access to the Electronic Patient Records (EPR) during ward rounds. We evaluated the system in a simulation facility of a hospital with two real orthopedic surgeons. The results of our study showed that while the WPA can be a viable solution for touch-less interaction with medical images and remote collaborations during surgeries, using the WPA in the ward rounds can have a negative impact on social interaction between surgeons and patients.