London hospitals are testing Microsoft’s HoloLens technology to reduce the number of doctors exposed to patients with COVID-19, in a program that could be expanded across the National Health Service if it’s successful.
A doctor wearing the augmented-reality goggles can broadcast images and audio from a patient examination back to colleagues outside the room using Microsoft’s Teams video conferencing app. This minimizes the number of health-care workers who are exposed, reduces the amount of protective equipment needed and helps patients get better access to specialists, who can remote in, according to James Kinross, a surgeon and lecturer at St. Mary’s Hospital who’s behind the program.