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Abstract
BackgroundSmart glasses have been gaining momentum as a novel technology because of their advantages in enabling hands-free operation and see-what-I-see remote consultation. Researchers have primarily evaluated this technology in hospital settings; however, limited research has investigated its application in prehospital operations.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to understand the potential of smart glasses to support the work practices of prehospital providers, such as emergency medical services (EMS) personnel.MethodsWe conducted semistructured interviews with 13 EMS providers recruited from 4 hospital-based EMS agencies in an urban area in the east coast region of the United States. The interview questions covered EMS workflow, challenges encountered, technology needs, and users’ perceptions of smart glasses in supporting daily EMS work. During the interviews, we demonstrated a system prototype to elicit more accurate and comprehensive insights regarding smart glasses. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the open coding technique.ResultsWe identified four potential application areas for smart glasses in EMS: enhancing teleconsultation between distributed prehospital and hospital providers, semiautomating patient data collection and documentation in real time, supporting decision-making and situation awareness, and augmenting quality assurance and training. Compared with the built-in touch pad, voice commands and hand gestures were indicated as the most preferred and suitable interaction mechanisms. EMS providers expressed positive attitudes toward using smart glasses during prehospital encounters. However, several potential barriers and user concerns need to be considered and addressed before implementing and deploying smart glasses in EMS practice. They are related to hardware limitations, human factors, reliability, workflow, interoperability, and privacy.ConclusionsSmart glasses can be a suitable technological means for supporting EMS work. We conclude this paper by discussing several design considerations for realizing the full potential of this hands-free technology.
Highlights
BackgroundPrehospital care is a high-risk, time-sensitive medical domain where first responders such as emergency medical services (EMS) providers provide urgent care to patients in the field and transport them to the nearest hospital or care facility
The EMS participants identified a set of potential application areas where smart glasses could facilitate their work
The most prominent application area of smart glasses raised by EMS providers was teleconsultation
Summary
BackgroundPrehospital care is a high-risk, time-sensitive medical domain where first responders such as emergency medical services (EMS) providers provide urgent care to patients in the field and transport them to the nearest hospital or care facility. Perhaps prehospital care is among the most challenging medical domains in the provision of care to patients owing to various reasons, such as the broad range of clinical situations, limited resources and time, difficulties in accessing remote experts, and the highly dynamic situations and environmental conditions that providers encounter [1,2] Owing to such challenges, technology support could be useful for EMS providers to facilitate decision-making and information management [3,4]. Another study designed and evaluated a smartphone app to facilitate care documentation in the field by enabling EMS providers to photograph the patient, record digital audio notes, and capture the view of the incident [6] Despite their beneficial features, these handheld devices could cause problems in real-time use because (1) handheld devices are prone to interfere with manual tasks in a busy EMS environment [7-11] and (2) the physical handling of these devices could increase the chance of cross-contamination and patient infections [12]. We conclude this paper by discussing several design considerations for realizing the full potential of this hands-free technology
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