Smart glasses are suggested as a complement to existing monitoring and routines and cannot replace human presence in intensive care.

Background Anesthesia departments and intensive care units represent two advanced, high-tech, and complex care environments. Health care in those environments involves different types of technology to provide safe, high-quality care. Smart glasses have previously been used in different health care settings and have been suggested to assist health care professionals in numerous areas. However, smart glasses in the complex contexts of anesthesia care and intensive care are new and innovative. An overview of existing research related to these contexts is needed before implementing smart glasses into complex care environments. Objective The aim of this study was to highlight potential benefits and limitations with health care professionals' use of smart glasses in situations occurring in complex care environments. Methods A scoping review with six steps was conducted to fulfill the objective. Database searches were conducted in PubMed and Scopus; original articles about health care professionals’ use of smart glasses in complex care environments and/or situations occurring in those environments were included. The searches yielded a total of 20 articles that were included in the review. Results Three categories were created during the qualitative content analysis: (1) smart glasses as a versatile tool that offers opportunities and challenges, (2) smart glasses entail positive and negative impacts on health care professionals, and (3) smart glasses' quality of use provides facilities and leaves room for improvement. Smart glasses were found to be both a helpful tool and a hindrance in caring situations that might occur in complex care environments. This review provides an increased understanding about different situations where smart glasses might be used by health care professionals in clinical practice in anesthesia care and intensive care; however, research about smart glasses in clinical complex care environments is limited. Conclusions Thoughtful implementation and improved hardware are needed to meet health care professionals’ needs. New technology brings challenges; more research is required to elucidate how smart glasses affect patient safety, health care professionals, and quality of care in complex care environments.

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Smart glasses are a kind of wearable technology that gives users sustained, hands-free access to data and can transmit and receive information wirelessly. Earlier studies have suggested that smart glasses have the potential to improve patient safety in anesthesia care. Research regarding health care professionals' views of the potential use of smart glasses in anesthesia care is limited. The purpose of this study was to describe anesthesia health care professionals' views of smart glasses before clinical use. Design: A qualitative descriptive study. Methods: Data were collected from focus group interviews and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings: Three categories of participants' views of smart glasses were created during the analysis: views of integrating smart glasses in clinical setting; views of customized functionality of smart glasses; and views of being a user of smart glasses. One theme, striving for situational control, was identified in the analysis. Conclusions: Smart glasses were seen as a tool that can impact and improve access to patient-related information, and aid health care professionals in their struggle to gain situational control during anesthesia care. These are factors related to increased patient safety.