THIS REAL LIFE VERSION OF X-RAY GLASSES CAN SEE THROUGH YOUR SKIN

Google Glass has received endless press coverage for its futuristic form factor and novel, consumer-friendly applications. The wearable computer, for example, allows users to see email and maps right from its heads-up display. But could a similar type of technology soon let users even see through skin?

That’s the promise of a new product launched today by Evena Medical, a Silicon Valley based imaging technology firm. Created in partnership with Epson, Evena’s new Eyes-On Glasses System enables medical professionals to essentially peer underneath a patient’s skin in order to more easily locate veins for IV treatments. The product, Evena boasted today in a statement, is “one of the first healthcare applications of smart glasses commercially available on a global scale.”

While it may sound a bit like the X-ray specs sold in the back of comic books, Evena’s Eyes-On system is a version of a proven vascular imaging technology. Eyes-On ports the tech into a head-mounted display, to better help nurses and other medical workers do vein detection. Rather than having to cart a system around, the new device is hands-free and “projects overlays of digital content onto the real-world in the center of the wearer’s field of view … enabling a seamless blend of the physical and digital worlds,” the company said in a statement.

What’s more, the device allows for digital storage, enabling nurses to document and share a patient’s vein patency throughout his or her hospital stay.

“Studies have shown that up to 40% of IV starts require multiple attempts to locate and access a vein, which not only wastes valuable nursing time but also delays therapy and causes patient discomfort and dissatisfaction,” said Evena CEO Frank Ball said in a statement. “With Evena’s Eyes-On Glasses, nurses can quickly and easily locate and access the best veins for each patient—even in challenging clinical environments.”

It’s a refreshing application of smart glass technology, and an impressive departure from the usual novelty applications that have been developed for products like Google Glass.

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