Smart Glasses to Facilitate Ultrasound Guided Peripheral Intravenous Access in the Simulation Setting for Thai Emergency Medical Service Providers

Abstract

Purpose

The ultrasound-guided peripheral venous access (USGPIV) was reported as difficult for novices to perform. Smart glasses equipped with teleconference systems can display real-time ultrasound images to sonographers and consultants which can increase the success rate of this procedure. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of employing smart glasses for USGPIV.

Patients and Methods

A randomized, simulation study was conducted in emergency medical service (EMS) providers at Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand, from January to April 2023. We randomized participants into two groups which included participants who wore smart glasses during procedures requiring USGPIV (the smart glasses group) and participants who performed USGPIV with no smart glasses (the non-smart glasses group). After participating in USGPIV cannulation training, the simulations were carried out. The primary outcome was the first-attempt success rate, with secondary outcomes including the procedure time and subjective difficulty.

Results

Fifty participants were recruited for the study. The smart glasses group was superior to the non-smart glasses group both in terms of first-attempt success rate with no statistically significant (64% vs 60%; P = 0.460) and also demonstrated a shorter procedure time than the non-smart glasses group (25.5 sec vs 42.3 sec; P = 0.003). The participants reported the subjective difficulty score was higher in the smart glasses group (the visual analog scale, VAS = 8).

Conclusion

In simulation scenarios, the smart glasses-assisted USGPIV could shorten the procedure time. However, our study did not find significant differences in the first pass success rate of USGPIV between the two groups.

Keywords:

• smart glasses
• ultrasonography
• emergency medical services

Abbreviations

USGPIV, ultrasound-guided peripheral venous access; EMS, emergency medical service; VAS, the visual analog scale; PIVC, peripheral intravenous cannulation; POCUS, point of care ultrasound; IQRs, interquartile ranges.

Data Sharing Statement

The corresponding author will disclose the data sets utilized and/or analyzed during the current work upon reasonable request.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

This study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration’s principles and Good Clinical Practice recommendations. The Khon Kaen University Ethics Committee for Human Research approved the study. To ensure confidentiality, all identifiers were removed from the obtained data (HE651354).

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Josh Macknick for his assistance as an English consultant. We would additionally like to acknowledge Dr. Wanida Kanarkard and her colleagues from the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, for providing the smart glasses used in this study.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Research and Graduate Studies, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.