seeCOLe – Enhancing clinician-to-patient interaction through an award-winning augmented reality health app

"seeCOLe provides an AR health app that enables clinicians to interact with the EHR through wearables such as Google Glass or the Vuzix Blade."

SeeCOLe (see Clinical data On Lens) is a wearable mobile health app that enables clinicians to navigate and document in the electronic health record) hands-free by using voice commands. seeCOLe is Carl Osborne's (Founder and Lead Developer) brainchild, through which he brings innovative flagship products to the market.

The rise of seeCOLe

Healthcare systems have traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies such as augmented reality (AR). Statistics have shown that 70 percent of the time, physicians are reviewing clinical data or carrying out documentation. This issue plagues the medical industry as a clinician typically must navigate their attention to the computer and away from the patient to access electronic health records (EHR). seeCOLe provides an AR health app that enables clinicians to interact with the EHR through wearables such as Google Glass or the Vuzix Blade. The wearables interact with the EHR utilizing the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource API (FHIR).

Empowering clinicians and patients with a novel platform

seeCOLe creates and sustains a culture of innovation by regularly updating its software and hardware. As new technologies become available, seeCOLe’s team of developers and clinical subject matter experts are informed of new trends and conduct research and development to incorporate those features. Additionally, the app is regularly tested to ensure it is compatible with the latest devices and operating systems. seeCOLe’s core functionality is designed to be able to easily integrate with existing healthcare systems and to be able to communicate with other medical professionals. Finally, seeCOLe was created to be user-friendly, so that clinicians can quickly and easily understand how to use the app and interact with patient data. Using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to quickly process and analyze large volumes of patient data is one way the team has stayed on top of new trends and technology. The team’s technological goal is to integrate with other electronic health records to access and share patient data.

seeCOLe enables clinicians to interact with their EHR hands free by using voice commands and geographical reach. Clinicians can access patient information, results, and other relevant data from their EHRs without having to type or click. The app is designed to be a secure, seamless, and intuitive experience for clinicians. It allows them to access patient records and medical images simply by speaking commands or by pointing the side of the augmented reality device at a particular area. Additionally, it will allow healthcare providers to visualize their EHR data as an augmented reality overlay on their environment, enabling them to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions.

seeCOLe has the power to change the way clinicians interact with patient data—allowing them to:

• Access real-time, up-to-date information more quickly.
• View and analyze patient data in three-dimensional space.
• Make connections between multiple data points more easily.
• Improve medical decision-making by putting data into context.
• Enhance visual communication between clinicians, patients, and staff.

“Our application is a bridge between the EHR and clinicians, and we have essentially eliminated the computer screens when reviewing clinical data.”

Team of experts

Dr. Scheherezade "Sherry" Soltani, MD, BSc is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer at seeCOLe. Dr. Soltani earned a BSc in Biology with a minor in Psychology before pursuing her medical degree. She has extensive experience working in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the USA. Dr. Soltani’s goals are to bridge the barrier between technology and daily practice and to improve patient outcomes by humanizing medicine through technology and familiarizing hospitals, private practices, and other healthcare systems with advancements to better serve their communities and improve patient outcomes and decrease clinician burnout.

Mr. Nitesh Garg is the Technical Director at seeCOLe. Nitesh is a technology leader with expertise in engineering highly secured applications. Secure storage and communication are two essential requirements for a healthcare system, and his job is to make sure that patients are in control of their data. He is an innovator and likes to collaborate on creating working products from ideas. For seeCOLe he has been taking care of the backend that interacts with multiple FHIR systems in the most secure manner. As this involves working with patient data, the system has been made to leverage encryption techniques to make sure there are no data leaks.

The seeCOLe team is currently working with the US government on implementing a new functionality within seeCOLe targeting pharmacists and nurses that will improve patient safety through augmented reality.

Roadmap through the founder's lens

"We aren’t the first to use augmented reality, but we are the first to do it without the use of someone watching live footage and transcribing the medical visit. seeCOLe is the first fully automated augmented reality health app that integrates with any electronic health record and allows its users to interact with the health record hands free.”

Beyond just the visualization of patient data, such as vital signs, test results, and imaging data, and documenting it within the electronic health record, seeCOLe has planned some innovative features soon:

1. Utilizing artificial intelligence in combination with an algorithm, seeCOLe can record patient interviews and consultations using natural language processing to interpret and store key data points.
2. While interacting with clinical data, the app can be essential in the surgical arena to provide guidance for medical procedures.
3. Currently, we have beta-tested the ability to connect with remote specialists for assistance with difficult medical decisions.
4. It intends to begin training seeCOLe as a medical assistant in the near future. One of the first ways to accomplish this is through automated alerts and notifications of changes in patient data.
5. Finally, we are aware that there are multiple devices used to track patient data, and so beyond the EHR, we are looking at integration with wearables and other health tracking devices to collect patient data.

"We would like to develop and incorporate an extensive library of 3D medical models, allowing clinicians to view and interact with patient data in a more realistic and engaging way. Utilize machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop algorithms that will enable the app to better interpret and present patient data to clinicians. Develop partnerships and collaborations with medical institutions and healthcare organizations to promote the app and share best practices. Invest in marketing and advertising initiatives to reach a larger audience and build brand recognition. Form alliances with data scientists and healthcare experts to develop new features and capabilities to enhance the app’s functionality, and finally continually update the app with new features and capabilities to keep up with the latest trends in healthcare technology."

About | Carl Anthony Osborne

Carl Anthony Osborne is the Founder and Lead Developer of seeCOLe healthcare augmented reality application. He is a clinical informatics application developer with over 15 years of experience optimizing electronic health records at multiple healthcare facilities or creating health IT mobile applications and user dashboards for various healthcare IT startups. Carl brings his innovation, skillsets, and industry knowledge to address several pain points related to how clinicians document within the EHR.

"seeCOLe is the first fully automated augmented reality health app that integrates with any electronic health record and allows its users to interact with the health record hands-free."