How the Crescent Vision Live is different to most medical use smart glasses

Surgical education is a long process that has stayed surprisingly similar through the decades, still predominantly relying on the apprenticeship method to teach future surgeons. With this method, surgical education can take up to 14 years to complete. Many institutions are looking to improve the efficiency of surgical training and close the gap from trainee to surgeon. This is especially so, as general innovation in medicine has far outpaced innovation in medical training. This is where digitalisation can help, for example by using smart glasses.
Already brought to light in 2014 by Dr. Shafi Ahmed, when he spearheaded the usage of smart glasses to stream an operation to over 13,000 students, the trend of online surgical content is now starting to majorly gain traction and enter the slope of enlightenment on the Gartner Hype Curve. But what really are the advantages to students and educators of devices such as smart glasses or headcams?

How smart glasses help the teacher

Smart glasses and other similar first-person perspective glasses are a major improvement for the surgeon over other popular OR filming methods. Smart glasses allow continued focus on the task at hand, with the surgeon continuously aware of what is being filmed; their perspective. Additionally, other benefits such as augmented reality screens and audio transmission allow communication between the surgeon or professor and those outside of the OR. In general ‘No interference with operative sterility, procedural length, nor functioning in the operating room was encountered by clinical personnel’ while streaming [2]. This allows the surgeon to go about their business, without being distracted. 

How smart glasses help the student

Smart glass technology also creates benefits for trainees and medical students. The point of view image created by smart glasses shows an image that is incredibly immersive for the viewer, without adding distractions or view-blocking annoyances that are otherwise present in the OR, such as other students or clinical staff that may be in your way, or hands that might be very present when a presentation is viewed from a top-down angle. 

Additionally, added digital functionalities like zoom and wide-angle help the students through increased visibility as they allow the viewer to get a more clear view of either the detailed operative procedure or the OR environment. Moreover, recorded footage can be rewatched and studied outside the OR. Students ‘highlighted [the first-person perspective videos] perceived realism and its help as a memory aid.’ [3] and it was found that smart glasses and other first-person perspective video capturing devices did not experience the disadvantages - such as a bad viewing angle - of other filming methods.

Are smart glasses the perfect tool?

The benefits of smart glasses are significant, however, there are some disadvantages. One such drawback is that many smart glasses are not developed for specific healthcare use cases. Most popular smart glasses are made for industrial production use cases, with healthcare as an added use case. This means that there are many aspects that must be improved before smart glasses can be fully adapted into surgical workflows. 

First, many smart glasses come with Heads Up Displays (HUDs) that can display information in front of the surgeon’s eye. Although this may sound useful, in practice it is often found that such screens could lead to ‘divided attention and cognitive tunnelling, and spatial disorientation’ [1].

Second, many studies found that the battery size of smart glasses are a major concern [1] with glasses such as the Google Glass only lasting up to 1 hour when recording or streaming video. A problem, when surgeries can last up to 10 hours.

Third, data privacy is a large issue. Many smart glasses raise privacy concerns, with how easy it is to capture, share, and store information about a patient, surgeons, or others present in the OR. Google Glasses, for example, are always uploading data to a Google server once connected to the internet [1]. 

Lastly, smart glasses often create shaky and unstable footage, as the wearer moves their head about when picking up instruments or talking to their colleagues. This makes for a sometimes unpleasant and unclear viewing experience. 

How The Crescent Vision Live is Different

The use of smart glasses in teaching for example helps both surgeon and student as the OR is opened to the outside world in a clear and immersive manner. However, much still needs to change if smart glasses are to see to what extent they can replace current live streaming and recording methods. The Crescent Vision Live aims to alleviate the hurdles presented by the common smart glasses used for medical purposes.

By modifying the form factor, for example, from the typical smart glass to a head-mounted camera the Crescent Vision Live manages to remove the pitfalls present by the common smart glass factor such as the aforementioned divided attention caused by the HUD.

To elaborate further, the Crescent Vision Live has no screens present that may interfere with the surgeon’s attention for example. Instead, the Crescent Vision Live uses a headlight that shows the surgeon exactly where they’re filming, while simultaneously lighting up the surgical area. 

Additionally, battery concerns have led to Crescent Tech adopting a hot-swappable battery model, effectively allowing you to stream for as long as you keep swapping batteries.

Lastly, the Crescent Vision Live reduces the effects caused by the shakiness of the footage by allowing the viewer to switch seamlessly between zoom and wide-angle cameras. Meaning the viewer could choose to view the footage in wide-angle, when the surgeon is moving about or interacting with his environment, and could use the zoom camera when the surgeon is working on the patient and when detailed footage is required. 

These combined modifications to the existing smart glass formula mean the Crescent Vision Live may be preferable in specific use cases. Both common smart glasses, such as the Google Glass, and the Crescent Vision Live have specific benefits and disadvantages that may make either the right tool for you. If you are interested in finding out more, contact us to organise a demo.