Study focuses on Google Glass for dermatology consultations

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital will study the efficacy of using a version of Google Glass in an emergency department for real-time audio-visual dermatology consultations.

“In this study, we will use Google Glass to stream live images of a patient’s dermatological condition to the consulting dermatologist,” Paul Porter, MD, a physician in the emergency department of Rhode Island Hospital, said in a press release. “As the emergency medicine physician observes the patient’s skin condition, the consulting dermatologist will be able to see identical images on a tablet in real time, giving the dermatologist the ability to offer appropriate advice, diagnosis and treatment options.”

The feasibility study will last 6 months and include patients in the Rhode Island Hospital emergency department who require a dermatology consult and consent to taking part in the study, the release stated. The hospital is the first in the US to use Google Glass in an emergency department setting.

Porter and fellow researchers worked with Pristine, a health care technology communications company, to develop a form of Google Glass that meets patient privacy laws.

“We recognize that the opportunities for Google Glass in a medical setting are very broad,” Porter said in the release. “Ultimately, the use of this technology could result in better coordinated care, faster interventions, better outcomes, fewer follow-up office visits, fewer readmissions and lower costs – for a wide range of disciplines, not just dermatology. We also envision this technology eventually being used by first responders and nursing homes as a tool to communicate with emergency medicine physicians.”