Table 1.
Summary of the included studies evaluating the application of Google Glass to surgical medical interventions.
| Source (country) | Health conditiona | Study design | Study setting | Google Glass applicationb |
| Borgmann et al, 2016 (Spain) [38] | Urology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Used to record first-person point-of-view video and photos and as search engine |
| Iqbal et al, 2016 (United Kingdom) [35] | Urology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Acted as a heads-up vital sign monitor during surgery to maintain attentiveness to surgical field |
| Dickey et al, 2016 (United States) [12] | Urology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Served as a surgical training tool in real-time first-person visualization of urologic surgery demonstration |
| Chimenti & Mitten, 2015 (United States) [13] | Orthopedics | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative (simulated) | Enhanced fluoroscopic visualization of the operative field |
| Ponce et al, 2014 (United States) [14] | Orthopedics | Case study | Operative | Used in conjunction with the VIPAAR system to livestream video during surgery and facilitate remote telementoring between 2 surgeons, allowing real-time guidance of the operating surgeon |
| Armstrong et al, 2014 (United States) [15] | Orthopedics | Case study | Operative & postoperative | Facilitated medical documentation and education via video recording |
| Hashimoto et al, 2016 (United States) [16] | General surgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Head-mounted display allowed first-person point-of-view video recording in open surgery where placement of external cameras would be otherwise difficult; aided telementoring |
| Brewer et al, 2016 (United States) [17] | General surgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative (simulated) | Livestreamed a surgery between teacher and learner, allowing the teacher to visualize the learner’s operative field in real time and provide guidance as needed; facilitated surgical education and telementoring |
| Stewart & Billinghurst, 2016 (Canada) [39] | General surgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative (simulated) | Worn as a surgical navigation tool to help surgeon maintain attentiveness to the operative field |
| Datta et al, 2015 (Brazil, Paraguay, United States) [18] | General surgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Used in telementoring and improved access to quality care and education of health care providers in resource-deficient countries |
| Duong et al, 2015 (United States) [32] | Cardiology | Pilot/feasibility study | Preoperative | Used as a hands-free camera to help increase the accuracy of coronary angiogram interpretation |
| Schaer et al, 2015 (Switzerland) [40] | Cardiology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Acted as a vital sign monitor; more efficient method of monitoring |
| Golab et al, 2016 (United Kingdom) [36] | Neurosurgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Served as an intraoperative monitoring display to decrease need for attention diversion; hands-free capabilities promoted sterility |
| Nakhla et al, 2017 (United States & Mongolia) [19] | Neurosurgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Preoperative, operative, & postoperative | Livestream abilities allowed students to visualize surgery in real time |
| Yoon et al, 2016 (United States) [20] | Neurosurgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Served as a heads-up neuronavigation monitor in pedicle screw placement; also projected video stream from external video-capture device for surgeon to view |
| Evans et al, 2016 (United States) [21] | Minimally invasive procedure—CVC insertion | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative (simulated) | First-person videography used to capture simulated internal jugular catheter insertions; potential to further medical education |
| Knight et al, 2015 (United Kingdom) [37] | Minimally invasive procedure—injectable ILR | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Live-broadcasted surgeries to trainees to further medical education |
| Liebert et al, 2016 (United States) [22] | Minimally invasive procedures—bronchoscopy & thoracostomy tube placement | Randomized controlled pilot study | Operative (simulated) | Acted as a continuous vital sign monitor to promote attentiveness and patient safety |
| Spencer et al, 2014 (United States) [23] | Minimally invasive procedure—tracheal intubation | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Helped document airway management procedures using built-in camera |
| Wu et al, 2014 (United States) [24] | Minimally invasive procedure—ultrasound-guided central line placement | Randomized controlled pilot study | Operative | Served as an ultrasound monitor to decrease surgeon’s need to redirect vision between operative field and traditional monitor |
| Vorraber et al, 2014 (United States) [25] | Minimally invasive procedure—percutaneous transluminal angioplasty | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Integrated and projected vital sign data to reduce need for multiple monitors in the operating room; allowed for increased attention to patient |
| Kantor, 2015 (United States) [26] | Surgical oncology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Recorded photographs of Mohs surgery and gross Mohs sections; aided upload of electronic medical records |
| Zhang et al, 2016 (China) [41] | Surgical oncology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative (simulated) | Acted as an ultrasound monitor to offer surgeon real-time feedback about the procedure without need to divert attention from operative field; smaller, more cost-effective alternative to near-infrared fluorescence imaging systems |
| Muensterer et al, 2014 (United States) [27] | Pediatric surgery | Case study | Preoperative, operative, & postoperative | Established Google+ hangout to permit teleconferencing |
| Drake-Brockman et al, 2016 (Australia) [42] | Pediatric anesthesiology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Continuously monitored patient’s vital signs to decrease need for a separate monitor |
| Moshtaghi et al, 2015 (United States) [28] | Otolaryngology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Audiovisual capabilities and Internet interface allowed hands-free commands and greater communication |
| Rahimy & Garg, 2015 (United States) [29] | Ophthalmology | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Recorded steps of scleral buckling procedure to be later used for medical education |
| Sinkin et al, 2016 (United States) [30] | Plastic surgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative & postoperative | Promoted sterility in the operating room through hands-free commands and intraoperative photography |
| Aldaz et al, 2015 (United States) [34] | Chronic wound care | Pilot/feasibility study | Postoperative | Allowed for more hygienic examination and photography of chronic wounds; connected to the Internet to decrease image upload time; reduced administrative errors via hands-free audiovisual recording of note dictation and patient barcodes |
| Baldwin et al, 2016 (United States) [31] | Organ transplant surgery | Pilot/feasibility study | Operative | Hands-free real-time video allowed quality assurance and collaboration between transplant staff and home surgeons during time-sensitive event |
| Gupta et al, 2016 (United States) [33] | Emergency medicine surgical consultations | Pilot/feasibility study | Preoperative | Provided near-real-time video used for surgical consultations |
aCVC: central venous catheter; ILR: implantable loop recorder.
bMedical professionals wore Google Glass in all cases. VIPAAR: Virtual Interactive Presence and Augmented Reality.