Wachs' research focuses on how human–machine interaction can help improve surgical outcomes. The System for Telementoring with Augmented Reality (STAR) project seeks to provide visual systems that are so well integrated and feature such clear “augmented reality” guidance that the surgeon and the remote mentor can indeed feel as if they are next to each other. It is funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, 

“We’ve come up with technology that allows you to align directly in your view both the anatomy of the patient and the annotations of the mentor, eliminating the shift of focus from the patient,” Wachs says.

The technology may be used for medical procedures in combat zones or in rural clinics.