Abstract

The global shortage of intensive healthcare professionals is a prevalent trend adversely affecting patient care quality worldwide. Various factors contribute to this shortage, with outdated technology and processes being significant contributors. For instance, Electronic Health Record software, initially designed for revenue-generating activities, has become cumbersome for nurses and clinicians. Additionally, it has been noted that some bedside monitoring equipment is not optimally designed from the user's perspective, leading to increased accidents due to human-device interaction. To address this shortage of healthcare professionals, our research investigates the integration of AR technology into patient monitoring scenarios. We hypothesized that care workers could more efficiently and effectively interact with essential information, such as patient vital sign data, using an AR headset, with the data superimposed on their environment. To evaluate this assumption, we developed a medical application for AR headsets. Adhering to user-centered design principles, we collected real user requirements through shadow observations in an ICU ward and a preliminary study. The application features a vital sign monitor, Heads-Up Display (HUD), visualization of Acute Kidney Failure (AKF), manual input via hand gestures and voice commands, and patient selection through QR code scanning, among others. We conducted two phases of user experiments, iterating and improving the application based on feedback from the first phase before presenting it in the second phase. The results from the user experiments indicate that most participants found the AR headset medical application beneficial for their daily work. In comparing input methods, both subjective and objective data suggested a preference for voice commands over hand gestures. Regarding the visualization of AKF, both formats we designed received positive evaluations, indicating that this information was intuitive and efficient for users. Most participants found that using the HUD for viewing vital sign data was more intuitive but less efficient compared to a virtual vital sign monitor. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the potential benefits of a task-oriented medical application on an AR headset for routine use by medical professionals.

Results/Implementation/Project Description

Conclusion

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