Partnership sees development of surgery assistance smart glasses

Two companies have worked together to develop surgery assistance smart glasses.

The solution, developed by technology company Iristick and medical device specialist Rods&Cones, aims to revolutionise real-time collaboration in the operating theatre between surgeons, attending surgeons and product experts: offering remote assistance in surgery.

The smart glasses are equipped with two individual cameras, microphones, and a powerful optical zoom lens – which can be operated by the remote assistant; giving an unrestricted, close-up view of each surgery’s progress and real-time feedback. 

The glasses feature a QR code scanner which enables surgeons to ‘dial-in’ colleagues by looking at the right code. The device responds to voice commands and have enough battery capacity to last for up to eight hours. 

All the functions of the smart glasses are remotely controlled and do not require the surgeon to touch the glasses while operating. Additionally, the design team at Rods&Cones’ have made enhancements to handle X-ray video feeds, high contrast screens of in-theatre devices and red balance issues. Rods&Cones selected Iristick glasses as their technology platform due to their comfort, ergonomics and suitability for use in surgery. Through the Iristick open platform, Rods&Cones has been able to integrate its software resulting in this solution.     

The solution comes ready to use out of the box. All the user needs to do is turn on the pocket unit and look at the right QR code when needed.

Iristick’s smart glasses allow surgeons to have almost instant access to advice during surgery, while increasing efficiency and knowledge transfer, shortening intervention times, reducing travel times and costs – with the ultimate aim of helping improve patient safety and outcomes.

Johan De Geyter, CEO Iristick, said: "Surgeons are isolated from many support systems because of the safety and sterility regulations. But thanks to Rods&Cones’ software platform – customised with our smart glasses – surgeons can connect easily, zoom in on the smallest details, and complete more successful surgeries – handsfree, quickly and effectively." 

Bruno Dheedene, Rods&Cones co-founder and CEO added: “We believe our partnership with Iristick has the potential to revolutionise the way surgeries are conducted and make healthcare more efficient in many ways.

“We’ve seen the need first hand in hospitals across Europe and tests show that there are immediate benefits straight away, from an efficiency and cost perspective. And given that they could be used anywhere with an internet connection; there’s huge potential for their use in fieldwork – especially in more remote locations where surgeons are in limited numbers.”