Bridging the prehospital communication gap: evaluating a smart glass-enabled telemedicine system
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31iConf64131Keywords:
Smart glass, Prehospital communication, Wearable technology, Emergency care, SimulationAbstract
Introduction. Accurate and timely communication between emergency medical services (EMS) providers and remote physicians is vital for high-quality prehospital care, yet traditional phone or radio systems often fail to convey sufficient contextual information. Smart glasses offer a promising alternative by enabling real-time, first-person video and data sharing. This study evaluates a smart glass-based telemedicine system to understand how it is used in practice and perceived by emergency care providers.
Method. We conducted 16 near-realistic simulation-based evaluations involving EMS providers and emergency physicians. We analysed the system usage and user experience through multiple approaches, including video analysis, eye-tracking, interviews, and surveys.
Results. The smart glass-based telemedicine system was positively received by EMS and physician participants, who praised its effectiveness in enhancing communication and its ease of use. However, observations of actual usage—such as longer physician connection times and interaction challenges with the device—along with broader sociotechnical issues including infrastructure readiness, workflow integration, and ergonomic concerns, highlight the need for more thoughtful design to support successful adoption and deployment at scale.
Conclusion. Smart glasses hold significant promise for augmenting prehospital communication, but successful adoption will require careful integration into EMS workflows, ergonomic design refinements, and resilient technical infrastructure.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Enze Bai, Zhan Zhang, Yincao Xu, Kathleen Adelgais, Mustafa Ozkaynak
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