Exploring adoption of augmented reality smart glasses: Applications in the medical industry

Abstract

This study explores the use of augmented reality smart glasses (ARSGs) by physicians and their adoption of these products in the Turkish medical industry. Google Glass was used as a demonstrative example for the introduction of ARSGs. We proposed an exploratory model based on the technology acceptance model by Davis. Exogenous factors in the model were defined by performing semi-structured in-depth interviews, along with the use of an expert panel in addition to the technology adoption literature. The framework was tested by means of a field study, data was collected via an Internet survey, and path analysis was used. The results indicate that there were a number of factors to be considered in order to understand ARSG adoption by physicians. Usefulness was influenced by ease of use, compatibility, ease of reminding, and speech recognition, while ease of use was affected by ease of learning, ease of medical education, external influence, and privacy. Privacy was the only negative factor that reduced the perceived ease of use, and was found to indirectly create a negative attitude. Compatibility emerged as the most significant external factor for usefulness. Developers of ARSGs should pay attention to healthcare-specific requirements for improved utilization and more extensive adoption of ARSGs in healthcare settings. In particular, they should focus on how to increase the compatibility of ARSGs. Further research needs to be conducted to explain the adoption intention of physicians.

Augmented reality practices in health services: Literature review

“…When articles on AR practices used in surgical sciences were examined, it was observed that the highest number of publications was on the domain of General Surgery as clinical domain [13,17,20,44]. And when the key words of the publications were analyzed, it is being observed by Graph 5 that the most frequently used key word was "Augmented Reality" [5,7,8,9,11,13,14,15,16,17,19,20,21,22,23,26,27,29,31,33,34,35,37,38,39,41,42,44,45,46], and the second one was "Virtual Reality" [ 8,9,13,14,16,25,27,37,41]. 1 [34] 1 [37] 1 [20] 1 [24] 1 [35] 1…”

Current and future perspectives on smart glasses

“…Digital technologies have been revolutionizing several industrial sectors, starting from the manufacturing sector to the development of novel products [1,2]. Advancements in Information and Communication Technologies are supporting policymaking and increasing the overall operation efficiency [3][4][5].…”

“…Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual field testing, and color tests often reveal complications of the prolonged usage of smart glasses [14]. Before and after using smart glasses, users' visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual field parameters, and color distinction abilities show significant differences, indicating serious negative implications of the usage of smart glasses over a prolonged period [4,12,15,16].…”

Google Glass-Supported Cooperative Training for Health Professionals: A Case Study Based on Using Remote Desktop Virtual Support

“…The usability and feasibility of smart glasses in education and health care areas, such as reading health data, telemonitoring, video recording, documentation, and education, have been extensively examined. 7 , 8 Google Glass, in particular, has been widely adopted in surgical operations, and previous reviews have identified its applicability as a videography device, monitoring device, and navigation display. 9 , 10 Smart glasses adapted to medical settings have been used to offer a first-person point-of-view, mostly in motionless environments such as surgical settings.…”