Mobile and wearable technologies, like smart glasses, represent a new generation of smart devices that have the power to transform the world of healthcare as we know it. Smart glasses, popularised by Google Glass (which is no longer available), present amazing opportunities for improving the quality of patient care. The latest entrant in this field, the Microsoft HoloLens 2, is a pair of mixed reality smart glasses that have been developed in the labs of Microsoft.
What exactly are smart glasses and how can they catalyse change in the healthcare industry? Simply stated, these are glasses that can access and display data that is current and simple. It enables the wearer to see information in real time. Therefore, it offers immense possibilities in healthcare, as doctors and nurses can see information remotely or connect with patients without having to be next to a computer or otherwise access digital records.
Microsoft HoloLens 2 was launched in February 24, 2019 as the successor to the pioneering Microsoft HoloLens.
The first variant, called the Hololens 2 enterprise edition was followed by a developer edition that was announced just over two months later.
Under the Hood:
As Microsoft’s first Windows 10 on ARM64 device, it features a Snapdragon 850 processor which gives it more processing power and makes it highly energy efficient. The HoloLens 2 is always available for use. It can go to sleep and wake up super-fast as well.
How can Smart Glasses like the Microsoft HoloLens 2 help in the World of Healthcare?
Helps in Medical Education
While previously mobile phones were not allowed in classrooms, nowadays iPads and tablets are used in classrooms to explain topics and give an immersive learning experience. Forward-thinking educational institutions are now getting accustomed to using digital versions of the traditional educational materials such as printed textbooks and print resources. Today’s education industry face many challenges, especially pertaining to higher education, that can be addressed by adopting new-age technologies such as mixed reality.
By implementing HoloLens for medical education, students can have increased engagement and understanding of abstract concepts. They can perform investigations and walk around in clinics, even as they access data in real time. Using holograms produced by HoloLens, anatomy and medicine students are able to learn better than the traditional methods. As they dissect the cadavers, organs can be viewed and interacted with in isolation from other parts of the body, helping students to gain a deeper understanding of how they look and function. For instance, if students wish to study the heart of a person, using the HoloLens education app they can easily view it separately from the entire body.
Helps in Remote Healthcare Education
The education industry is ever changing and online learning that transcends geographies is the new order of the day. Virtual classes present learning opportunities to people in rural areas who do not have physical access to high-quality institutions. Remote classes are typically not very friendly in learning hands-on skills, but the HoloLens has proven to be an effective tool on this front. While giving a simulated learning environment for medical students, the HoloLens also gives teachers the means to offer hands-on instruction from a remote location.
Assists During Surgery
When a surgeon is operating, having quick access to data can be extremely beneficial in the operating room. Smart glasses can help surgeons see critical information in real time when required, in settings where they cannot easily access a computer.
Used in Medical Apps and Tools
A mixed-reality learning tool for nursing, allied health and medical schools – HoloPatient – is a cutting-edge 3D immersive solution that is expected to deliver consistent simulated patient experiences to more students at affordable costs. HoloPatient brings learning to life with amazing clarity, bringing new possibilities into the realm of medical education. HoloPatient uses Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Capture technology to allow tutors and students to collaborate in diverse learning and assessment activities that were previously never possible without real patients.
Enhances Clinical Documentation
Physicians can stay more personally engaged with their patients, using the clinical documentation capabilities of smart glasses.
CAE Healthcare: An Industry Leader in simulation-based technologies, curriculum,
and resources
CAE Healthcare is a healthcare technology development leader that has been instrumental in innovating many apps, devices and solutions such as:
- CAE VimedixAR is the first ultrasound simulator to integrate HoloLens. Healthcare professionals can display, enlarge, turn and rotate realistic-looking anatomical parts, or command them to return into the manikin body. Learners can witness in real time, the ultrasound beam as it cuts through human anatomy.
- CAE LucinaAR, a wireless childbirth simulator with validated, integrated maternal-fetal physiology, allows training on all the stages of delivery including emergency scenarios. Learners can view 3D holograms of a foetus as it descends the birth canal and gain comprehensive views of the anatomy.
- Abiomed Impella procedural training solution integrates HoloLens into a simulation-based training platform that allows physicians to practice ultrasound-guided placement of the world’s smallest heart pump. The CAE HoloLens framework will overlay the ultrasound manikin, probe as well as instruments and depict physiological responses and potential complications to help clinicians quickly master the use of the device.
- Medtronic Micra™ Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS), the world’s smallest pacemaker, uses a physics-driven simulator that can be tricky to learn. To understand its use, CAE Healthcare delivered a mixed reality training solution on its Microsoft
HoloLens platform.