Towards the Design of a Smart Glasses Application for MICU Decision-Support: Assessing the Human Factors Impact of Data Portability & Accessibility

Abstract

The focus of this research is to develop and test a new smart glasses application for use in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) to support workflow, patient care, and overall clinical decision-making. The application prototype, mCARE glass, provides clinicians mobility, portability, and hands-free access to real-time patient electronic medical records and bedside data on demand. Five MICU physician volunteers participated in a study consisting of two parts: 1) a usability test with two tasks, and 2) an interview. Part one included usability testing with the use of the tracking pad, followed by the NASA Task Load Index Test and System Usability Scale test. Our findings suggest that mCARE glass has the potential to enhance clinical workflow in the ICU, and that besides providing easy access to patient data, it would improve patient monitoring and surveillance. Participants concurred that for mCARE glass to optimize clinical workflow, it must be well-integrated into one’s daily work as part of decision-making and observation.

Nurse anesthetists’ experiences using smart glasses to monitor patients’ vital signs during anesthesia care: A qualitative study

“…The results show that SG increased access to VSs during anesthesia care, regardless of the NA's location. This has been shown earlier in similar [13,27,28], and simulated [29,30] settings, and is now accordingly also experienced by NAs during clinical anesthesia care. Information provided in the users' field of view can improve response time and increase attentiveness [31] as well as situation awareness [12,27].…”

“…Being given access to all information allow HCPs to make better decisions, for example if an ongoing task needs to be interrupted in favor of a more important event [30]. This is seen as an asset for improved quality of care and improved patient safety [13], and is applicable to anesthesia care as well.…”

“…SG have been suggested to improve communication and safety in intraoperative care [8], as well as to facilitate the monitoring of VSs. This has previously been tested in simulated settings [9][10][11] and clinically used by surgeons monitoring VSs [12], as well as in the similar context of intensive care [13]. A scoping review highlights that research concerning the clinical use of SG in complex care environments is limited [14].…”

Google Glass-Supported Cooperative Training for Health Professionals: A Case Study Based on Using Remote Desktop Virtual Support

“…A previous study suggests that wearable devices can help health professionals solve problems more quickly and safely via knowledge transfer using direct verbal and visual information. 6 The first commercial smart glass was Google Glass. It was created for the general public, but due to functional limitations and lack of public acceptance of smart glasses, it is now being developed for specialized target groups for business, industrial, medical, and military uses.…”