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Telemedecine for Surgical Training: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Cost-Benefit of Using Smart Glasses in Burundi
Alain Ndayikunda1,2, Etienne Mugisho3, Stefaan Van Bastelaere3
1Institut National de Santé Publique, Bujumbura, Burundi.
Introduction:
Low- and middle-income countries face a critical shortage of medical professionals. In Burundi, shortage of medical professionals, especially surgeons, led the Ministry of Health to implement a district surgery training for general practitioners. To overcome the challenges of limited availability of surgeons and the high training costs, smart glasses were used to enable remote coaching of surgical teams during surgical procedures.
Methods:
Between July and October 2023, a mixed-methods cross-sectional study assessed the acceptability, feasibility and cost-benefit of using smart glasses for surgical training in Burundi's Muramvya District Hospital. Feasibility was evaluated using five criteria related to video and sound quality, connection stability, and synchronization, while costs and benefits were projected over a five-year period from a project funder's perspective.
Results:
A total of 24 surgical procedures were remotely coached using smart glasses, with a feasibility score averaging 4.3 out of 5. Cost analysis over five years demonstrated that the smart glasses approach is more efficient than face-to-face coaching.
Conclusion:
This study showed that smart glasses are an acceptable, feasible, and cost-effective tool for district surgical training.
