When Google introduced its Glass most people saw it as a fashion statement with some computer capabilities, but as different industries started looking at the potential applications of the technology, it has become much more than that. One of the companies harnessing that potential is CrowdOptic, a maker of mobile and wearable broadcasting solutions. The company uses its patented algorithms to gain unparalleled insights into device engagements across different applications, one of which is healthcare. This has led the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center to use Google Glass technology along with CrowdOptic's software to provide residents with a new tool for improving their training in complex surgical procedures.
The application of this technology in surgery could quite possibly be one of the most innovative ways to teach students and demonstrate new techniques to other surgeons. The software CrowdOptic uses with Google Glass allows everyone to inherit the point of view of another. This means surgeons will be able to create an environment in which a procedure that is being performed can be used to deliver and receive direct visual feedback instantaneously.
In the past viewing an operation usually meant an overhead view from a gallery that was completely separated from the operating room, or a camera that was placed directly above the operating table. Even though these methods delivered valuable insights for students and other surgeons, the access CrowdOptic provides with Google Glass is light years ahead.
When a physician is conducting surgery, Glass can broadcast the procedure out to the world as well as anyone that is wearing the device in the operating room. The ability to live stream what is taking place in the operating room to other doctors that are wearing the glass is a perspective that will advance the learning process to a new level.
The CrowdOptic technology uses sensor data to calculate user sightlines and sightline intersections by capturing images from the target with "focal data" (GPS, compass, and accelerometer) from multiple sources, including smartphones, augmented reality glasses and photo/video metadata. It then runs each sightline through a multithreaded detection routine to find out where they intersect. The company's propriety algorithm then identifies clusters used to interconnect related user actions and filters photos, videos and social commentary to find the most relevant, crowd sourced content.
"Our patented technology, which analyzes and clusters data corresponding to views of an event, dovetails with the emerging field of precision medicine. We can allow physicians and other healthcare professionals to share contextual data in a real-time and secure manner through Google Glass, allowing one physician to inherit the view of another physician, in the same operating room, within the hospital or even in a more community-based setting," commented Dr. James Kovach, VP of Business Development, CrowdOptic.
Edited by
Adam Brandt
