Innovation in wearable technology in the healthcare space continues to push boundaries.

Evena Medical, based in Los Altos, Calif., has unveiled its Eyes-On Glasses System, an imaging solution that enables clinicians at the bedside to see “through” a patient’s skin to the vasculature beneath. The goal: better detection of patient veins for precise IV placement.

The company announced the launch of the technology at MEDICA trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Up to 40 percent of IV starts require multiple attempts to locate and access a vein, according to Frank Ball, MD, Evena medical president and CEO, who spoke with Clinical Innovation + Technology. With 1.3 million IV placements per day, Ball saw an opportunity to improve clinical care while tapping a “gigantic” market.

The innovation utilizes the Epson Moverio “smart glasses” technology platform, a binocular design that projects overlays of digital content onto the wearer’s real-world field of vision. The solution incorporates multi-spectral 3-D imaging that delivers clear, real-time and anatomically accurate images of veins to help nurses insert the IV properly on the first try.

The innovation also allows storage to enable verification and documentation of vein patency throughout a patient’s stay in the hospital, can share images remotely and interface with hospital EMR systems.

Evena’s development of smart glasses technology has been years in the making. Previous efforts "always had been heavy and bulky and had prohibited clinical contact between the practitioner and patient,” said Ball. However, about six months ago, Evena began collaborating with Epson, a global imaging and innovation business led by Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp. The two launched a partnership that quickened the development of a much lighter and more versatile system.

“We took a prototype and spent 17 days in 10 countries giving 31 presentations to distributors to see what they thought of it, how they would like it configured,” said Ball. “We made sure to take into account the voice of the consumer.”

Ball said that they have done extensive testing with the glasses and that the military actively tested a first-generation frame. Testing has been conducted in clinical and ambulatory settings as well, he said. “This is not a case where we built an innovation and hope there is a market. We’ve researched it. New technology has gotten small enough, light enough and inexpensive enough for it to be feasible for the market.”

The FDA has already approved the optical system used by Eyes-On Glasses, thus the path is clear for commercialization in the U.S. Ball said the company currently is releasing its first round of Eyes-On Glasses to distributors to demo to their customers (ie., providers and hospitals). Ball anticipates production to begin next April.   

Evena is actively marketing Eyes-On globally, and among those interested so far in the technology include the Chinese military.

Ball said that the Eyes-On Glasses are part of a movement to open new pathways in connected medicine, or telemedicine—in particular in remote or underserved areas.

“We’ll be able to maximize this technology, go out with glasses, and be the eyes and ears of physicians so doctors are not wasting a lot of time traveling,” he said.

Ball said Evena Medical has met with a minister of health in Africa, who is very interested in Eyes-On Glasses’ capabilities, harnessing its Bluetooth and Wi Fi technologies to promote connected health to rural villages.