Google (GOOG) Glass-Assisted Surgery - Breakthrough or Breakdown?

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is getting a little bit of attention today following a release from The Ohio State University that Google Glass was used for the first time ever during surgery.

The procedure was an ACL repair performed by Dr. Christopher Kaeding at the OSU Wexner Medical Center. Kaeding wore the device and OSU noted that several students observed the procedure "miles away." Kaeding borrowed the device from associate Dr. Ismail Nabeel, who was selected to be one of the first participant in beta testing of Google Glass with Googles Explorer Program.

Is Google Glass really revolutionary in the operating room? The press release from the college offered the following benefits of using the device when performing medical procedures: Experts have theorized that during surgery doctors could use voice commands to instantly call up x-ray or MRI images of their patient, pathology reports or reference materials. They could collaborate live and face-to-face with colleagues via the internet, anywhere in the world.

Don't we have the technology for this already? Save for having a heads-up display, don't surgeons and doctors have the capability to attach a small camera with has Internet capability to the side of their protective eyewear or maybe as a separate piece and broadcast that to anyone, anywhere? What about turning on Skype and speaking to another doctor for advice that way? Is Google Glass' Internet connection that much better?

The point is -- and we're no experts at surgery -- it would seem that something like this could have happened years ago.

More questions:

• Will we still need robotic devices like Intuitive Surgical's (Nasdaq: ISRG) da Vinci?
  
  
• Will students need to go to medical school as long?
  
  
• Could medical students effectively go to medical school remotely?
  
  
• What's the reliability of Google Glass if hospitals start cutting unneeded staff due to the utility of the device?
  
  
• Will medical expenses then be lower because doctors are paying less for school? What about insurance companies charging doctors less due to less risk of error now that professionals have a medical encyclopedia readily available?
  
  
• Do you really want your surgeon to take less schooling, not study ahead of the procedure due to reliance on Google Glass?

Again, this is more of an opinion piece and what OSU did was very cool. It just would seem that at this point its more propaganda and advertisement for the device more than anything else.

Shares of Google ended the session lower Thursday.

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