In a development that could help providers with remote patient monitoring and other telehealth applications, one developer has created a neuroimaging app designed to work with Google Glass.

[See also: What will Google Glass do for health?.]

Created by Personal Neuro Devices, a Canadian application developer staffed with neuroscientists and biochemical engineers, the technology, called Introspect: the PND Wearable, is designed to enable Google Glass to give neuro-feedback to clinicians and caregivers.

The head-mounted, voice-activated tool could help passively monitor brain activity, relaying data to physicians to help diagnose and treat conditions such as depression, say PND officials.

Another use would be to facilitate adherence to long-term medication therapies, alerting patients to the re-emergence of subtle neuropsychological symptoms, or helping maintain healthy brain function for older adults.

Remotely monitoring of neuropsychological symptoms of participants in phase ll and lll drug trials are another potential. The app could even have implications for military or emergency responders, enabling remote monitoring of the brain health of mission-critical professionals and front-line personnel.

"Engaging with technology that can improve our lives should be seamless, effortless and worry-free," said Tony Gaitatzis, PND's chief technology officer, in a press statement. "This means devices should be passive and responsive, without being intrusive or distracting, so that all you notice are the benefits." The benefit of Introspect, connecting with Google Glass via encrypted Bluetooth, is that it works on patients "without (them) having to disengage from what (they) are doing to look at a phone or a tablet," he said.

The cloud, where data can be collected, analyzed and fed back to the clinicians, will be key to the device's prospects; the challenge will be to find ways to provide the right data in the right way. Toward that end, PND is developing a Web-services platform to serve as backend for wearable tools, and allow third parties to develop neuro apps from their own data.

"The ability of wearable tech to tap into big data in the cloud is powerful, but what comes back to the user must be clear and simple enough to be useful, rather than overwhelming," said Gaitatzis in a statement.

Introspect is now available for early adopter testing and pilot project applications, according to PND.