Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) announced that its M400 Smart Glasses were part of a winning submission to an American Medical Association (AMA) competition highlighting “meaningful learner-led activities or projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The project involving Vuzix glasses was a clinical study led by med student Lekha Devara at the University of Louisville. First-year medical residents normally shadow doctors in order to decide which medical fields they will study, but in March 2020, the university barred students from entering clinical settings to slow the spread of the virus
The study equipped doctors with Vuzix Smart Glasses, allowing 320 medical students to virtually “shadow” them without physically being in the hospital. The results were striking.
READ: Vuzix teams with lighting leader Signify to reduce latency for Vuzix Smart Glasses in areas where radio-based devices have poor connectivity
“Students have been able to get an unprecedented view of doctor-patient interaction and procedures that were previously difficult to witness during conventional shadowing,” the study noted. “The glasses have given students views of everything from suture technique to nuances in nonverbal communication between patients and caretakers.”
As a result of these findings, the school is exploring how it could implement smart glasses in gross anatomy labs to supplement a virtual anatomy curriculum for third- and fourth-year clinical faculties to record procedures, and perform demonstrations to supplement their teaching, the study said.
"We're excited to see the impact our Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses have had on the clinical experience for students at the University of Louisville School of Medicine to deliver new experiences in clinical shadowing that was not available during conventional shadowing,” Vuzix CEO Paul Travers said in a statement.
The study appeared alongside the other “most impactful submissions” in the 2020 COVID-19 Edition of the AMA’s Health Education Systems Science Student, Resident and Fellow Impact Challenge.
“Healthcare and telemedicine is a rapidly evolving and very important market vertical for business growth and innovation for Vuzix as we continue to set the standard for industry-leading telemedicine usage around the globe,” Travers added.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel