Smart glasses let nurses see veins through skin

Epson and Evena Medical today unveiled smart glasses that allow nurses at the bedside to see "through" a patient's skin to the vasculature beneath.

The companies claim the new Eyes-On Glasses System technology makes even hard-to-locate veins easy to find for intravenous placement.

The Eyes-On Glasses System allows nurses to "see" veins beneath the surface of the skin.

The Eyes-On Glasses System is based on Epson's Moverio Smart Glasses Technology, an Android-based, see-through wearable display launched earlier this year that allows users to interact with apps and games.

Evena Medical, a maker of high-definition imaging for precise venous access, said the new glasses incorporate its multi-spectral 3D imaging and wireless connectivity.

The glasses work by using the multi-spectral lighting to see veins beneath the skin and two digital cameras that transmit images wirelessly using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity. On-board data storage allows documentation of a procedure, including videos and photos. The telemedicine capability allows images to be shared remotely and can even connect to hospital electronic medical records systems for automated documentation.

The glasses use near-infrared light to highlight deoxygenated hemoglobin in a patient's veins and capture the images with two stereoscopic cameras. The cameras then project the vein images onto the see-through glass screens. "With this we can image a large field of view for peripheral veins," said David Yeh, executive vice president of sales at Evena Medical. "This is helpful to locate appropriate veins for IV access.... One stick , one nurse, in one minute."

The glasses, which have dual built-in speakers for video conferencing, off a belt-mounted power supply and computer.

"Studies have shown that up to 40% of IV starts require multiple attempts to locate and access a vein, which not only wastes valuable nursing time but also delays therapy and causes patient discomfort and dissatisfaction," Evena Medical CEO Frank Ball said in a statement. "With Evena's Eyes-On Glasses, nurses can quickly and easily locate and access the best veins for each patient - even in challenging clinical environments such as pediatric or neonatal units."

Eyes-On Glasses System technology makes even hard-to-locate veins easy to find for intravenous placement.

Lucas Mearian covers consumer data storage, consumerization of IT, mobile device management, renewable energy, telematics/car tech and entertainment tech for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed. His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.

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