Application of usability testing to the development of medical equipment. Usability testing of a frequently used infusion pump and a new user interface for an infusion pump developed with a Human Factors approach

The purpose of this paper is to present a case for the development of a user interface design guideline or standard for interactive voice response applications, to be widely disseminated throughout business and industry. A number of sample problems are cited, based on the author's consulting experience in this area, which serve to demonstrate that many of the problems encountered in IVR application development, particularly in scripting/dialogue design and use of automated speech recognition as a front-end, are not only solvable, but easily avoidable, given the current human factors knowledge base. The paper also discusses the Specification Document developed by the Voice Messaging User Interface Forum (1990, April), and the reasons why it cannot be applied, as written, to the user interface design of more complex IVR applications. Finally, the author proposes an approach to developing the proposed guideline/standard.

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Medical Equipment Usability Testing

International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors, Second Edition - 3 Volume Set ◽

10.1201/9780849375477.ch627 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

V Rice

Keyword(s):

Medical Equipment ◽

Usability Testing

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Usability Evaluation of Variable-Scale Microteleoperation System

Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics ◽

10.20965/jrm.2010.p0659 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 659-668

Author(s):

Takahiro Kanno ◽

◽

Yasuyoshi Yokokohji ◽

Keyword(s):

User Interface ◽

Usability Testing ◽

Usability Evaluation

The usability of variable-scale micromanipulation system we developed previously, which consists of manipulation and vision subsystems, is evaluated. Based on preliminary usability testing results, we introduced a modified user interface providing more intuitive operation and conducted usability testing of the system including the improved interface. Results showed that variable scaling is significantly more effective than fixed scaling - but only for subjects used to the system.

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Ergonomic User Interface Desgin in Computerized Medical Equipment

End-User Computing ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-945-8.ch036 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 445-450

Author(s):

D. John Doyle

Keyword(s):

User Interface ◽

System Design ◽

Interface Design ◽

Medical Equipment ◽

Design Guidelines ◽

Human Factors Engineering ◽

Common Cause ◽

Ecological Interface Design ◽

Patient Morbidity ◽

Important Approach

Current statistics suggest that preventable medical error is a common cause of patient morbidity and mortality, being responsible for between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths annually, and resulting in injuries that cost between $17 billion and $29 billion annually. An important approach to tackling this problem is to apply system design principles from human factors engineering (ergonomics). By doing so, systems and equipment become easier for people to work with, ultimately reducing the frequency of errors. In particular, in the case of medical equipment, the design of the user interface can impact enormously on its successful use. In this chapter we consider some of the elements of good and bad medical equipment design, using examples drawn from the literature and elsewhere. The concept of ecological interface design is also discussed, and some practical design guidelines are provided.

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