Ohana One’s Surgical Sight Program provides Vuzix Smart Glasses with Help Lightning software to support our surgical mentor/mentee teams who use this state-of-the-art technology to conduct remote training. This technology allows surgeons in developing countries to perform complex surgeries while getting real-time guidance and support from their mentors who are often in a different country. While mostly utilized in the operative environment, the glasses are also useful for pre-surgical planning sessions and post-operative recovery and follow-up.
Vuzix is a leading supplier of smart glasses and augmented reality technologies, as well as products for the consumer and enterprise markets. The company’s products include personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable displays, and augmented reality (vuzix.com). They have partnered with Ohana One to adapt their glasses to the needs of the Surgical Sight Program.
The glasses run utilizing projection software from Help Lightning. Help Lightning creates a “virtual interactive presence”, merging video streams so that remote helpers can aid those conducting surgery in person by, for example, gesturing on-screen to where a mentee surgeon should make an incision (helplightning.com).
The Surgical Sight Program augments annual surgical mission trips by providing year-round training for mentee surgeons who choose to participate and want to learn from a trusted mentor they have come to know as a friend and colleague. These mentor/mentee relationships can drastically improve surgical training in developing countries, resulting in more surgeons trained, and in turn, more patients treated. The hands-free, voice control glasses paired with Help Lightning software encourages unobstructed and rapid learning, strengthening efficiency between teams. Mentee surgeons are provided with the smart glasses for free as a grant from Ohana One, and additionally, they receive a dedicated connection with the Ohana One family of mentor surgeons and other surgical professionals. This extensive training and support network empowers surgeons to confidently control their surgical backlogs. This type of unique and personal training builds self-reliance, confidence, and essential surgical skills.
Because the smart glasses are compact, they are easy to ship and share with colleagues and other departments. This flexibility opens possibilities for an even greater impact than if the technology was limited to just one location or operating room.
The Surgical Sight Program is powered by Ohana One and partners such as Vuzix, Help Lightning, our amazing volunteer surgeons, and over a dozen NGOs, that have all come together to offer remote surgical training to support surgeons in developing areas. Without the Surgical Sight Program, mentee surgeons interested in further training would need to leave their countries to gain this life-saving knowledge and expertise. By remaining in place, they can continue offering critical services while learning important new skills to meet the needs of their patients in their communities.
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