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Google Glass Opens a World of Possibilities for Mobile Health Care

“Google Glass and the Future of Health” was the focus of a MeetUp I attended recently at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Total Health.

The enthusiasm and passion for making change were invigorating and contagious.

For those who don’t know what Google Glass is, here’s a basic summary.  It is a small “computer” that you wear like eye glasses across the bridge of your nose with a very small screen just above your right eye. It’s hands free, voice activated and connects to the internet, smart phones and other devices using wi fi and Bluetooth.
The wearer talks to it:  Glass, Take a picture; and it does. Glass, Video. Glass, Google: How do you say ‘hello’ in French? Bon Jour. Glass, Google: How many people live in Washington, DC? 590,000. Although a Google product, it doesn’t have a browser. Its very small screen isn’t the best interface for reading; but that’s not what it’s intended for. It gives the wearer information that it has searched for. Glass is not yet generally available to consumers, but thousands of  developers have them and are working feverishly on applications (Glassware). I’ve just touched the surface of its capabilities and said nothing about various controversies and issues that need to be addressed. For more info, Google “Google Glass.”
The MeetUp was a great opportunity to see Glass up-close and personal. And, about a dozen early adapters wore theirs.
Anthony Zugaldia, whose startup, Silicalabs, is exploring possible uses for Glass, gave an excellent overview. He projected his view through his Glass onto a white screen, which ironically was used decades ago for glassine “overheads” and slides. One of  the commands he demonstrated was Glass, Take a picture. And, it did. But so did the Glass worn by a member of the audience. It recognizes voice commands very well, but it probably needs to learn it’s master’s specific voice.

The MeetUp was a forum to hear what health-related problems people would like to see Glass solve. The ideas ranged from helping new mothers find places to breast feed, to sensing germs and bacteria on hospital health practitioners’ hands and gloves, to scanning the brain for concussions.

Of course, I love the germ detector. But, Katarina, a woman who won a Glass for her good idea, posited the most interesting idea. Her son is on the Autism spectrum and has issues interacting with people. She suggested that Glass could give him real-time advice about his behavior: remind him to shake hands, make eye contact, or do or say other things that most of us take for granted. This would be a great use of Glass’ close proximity to the user’s eyes and ears.

In fact, couldn’t we all use this kind of advice from time to time? For example, when we’re in a bad mood, it could remind us to “Smile” or splash a funny image on its small screen.  When a man meets a woman, it might remind him, “Look at her face!”

I also think it would be a good tool for biofeedback, either sensing the wear’s vital signs directly through the device itself or interacting with other monitors on her body, such as clothes and jewelry sensors and monitors.

Google Glass’ uniqueness lies in its hands-free mobile capabilities, voice recognition, and location close to its user. I’m looking forward to seeing what Glassware will be developed. In the end, users and creative developers like those gathered at the MeetUp, will define what Google Glass really is and how we’ll use it.