Biofeedback in partial weight bearing: usability of two different devices from patient's and physical therapist's perspective

Lieshout, Remko van; Pisters, Martijn F.; Vanwanseele, Benedicte; Bie, Rob A. de; Wouters, Eveline; Stukstette, M.J.

doi:10.1016/j.physio.2016.10.210

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This study design has been used by multiple usability studies in the areas of clinical and health informatics. [29][30][31] The SUS has also been used to evaluate interactive visualizations. 32,33 Since the study focused on user feedback rather than expert feedback on the dashboards, heuristic evaluation 34 was not considered.…”

Section: Study Conductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Usability Testing of an Interactive Dashboard for Surgical Quality Improvement in a Large Congenital Heart Center

Vennemeyer

Brown

et al. 2019

Appl Clin Inform

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Background Interactive data visualization and dashboards can be an effective way to explore meaningful patterns in large clinical data sets and to inform quality improvement initiatives. However, these interactive dashboards may have usability issues that undermine their effectiveness. These usability issues can be attributed to mismatched mental models between the designers and the users. Unfortunately, very few evaluation studies in visual analytics have specifically examined such mismatches between these two groups. Objectives We aimed to evaluate the usability of an interactive surgical dashboard and to seek opportunities for improvement. We also aimed to provide empirical evidence to demonstrate the mismatched mental models between the designers and the users of the dashboard. Methods An interactive dashboard was developed in a large congenital heart center. This dashboard provides real-time, interactive access to clinical outcomes data for the surgical program. A mixed-method, two-phase study was conducted to collect user feedback. A group of designers (N = 3) and a purposeful sample of users (N = 12) were recruited. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The dashboards were compared using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and qualitative data. Results The participating users gave an average SUS score of 82.9 on the new dashboard and 63.5 on the existing dashboard (p = 0.006). The participants achieved high task accuracy when using the new dashboard. The qualitative analysis revealed three opportunities for improvement. The data analysis and triangulation provided empirical evidence to the mismatched mental models. Conclusion We conducted a mixed-method usability study on an interactive surgical dashboard and identified areas of improvements. Our study design can be an effective and efficient way to evaluate visual analytics systems in health care. We encourage researchers and practitioners to conduct user-centered evaluation and implement education plans to mitigate potential usability challenges and increase user satisfaction and adoption.

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Section: Study Conductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Usability Testing of an Interactive Dashboard for Surgical Quality Improvement in a Large Congenital Heart Center

Vennemeyer

Brown

et al. 2019

Appl Clin Inform

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“…A biofeedback system consists of a sensor or measurement tool which detects a particular physiological variable, and an interface where information is presented back to the individual either directly or indirectly, e.g. abstract graphical displays, gamified interfaces or physical components such as robotics [23,97,98], and through visual, audio, haptic or multi-modal outputs [99]. A choice between methods of feedback may improve accessibility for an older adult population where there is an increased prevalence of visual, auditory and other sensory/perceptual impairments [100,101].…”

Section: Biofeedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for managing the complications of ageing related to reduced exercise participation

2018

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Exercise participation and activity levels are low in many older adults, and when paired with the multi-systemic effects of ageing, such as sarcopenia and decreased cardiovascular function, can result in a loss of functional independence. Voluntary exercise may not always be feasible for these individuals, highlighting a need for alternative therapies. There is a growing body of literature that recognises the positive effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on muscle strength, muscle mass and cardiorespiratory function in older adults. However, NMES suffers from poor clinical acceptability due to multiple barriers to its use, and poor patient engagement and adherence have been noted. Technology-based supports to exercise, such as biofeedback and 'gamification', have been effectively paired with a variety of rehabilitation interventions. This suggests that these supports could be promising additions to an NMES exercise system to reduce barriers to its use and maximise clinical outcomes.

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Versatile GCH Control Software for Correction of Loads Applied to Forearm Crutches During Gait Recovery Through Technological Feedback: Development and Implementation Study (Preprint)

Chamorro-Moriana¹,

Sevillano²,

Pérez-Cabezas³

2021

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Measuring weight bearing is an essential aspect of clinical care for lower limb injuries such as sprains or meniscopathy surgeries. This care often involves the use of forearm crutches for partial loads progressing to full loads. Therefore, feasible methods of load monitoring for daily clinical use are needed. OBJECTIVE The main objective of this study was to design an innovative multifunctional desktop load-measuring software that complements GCH System 2.0–instrumented forearm crutches and monitors the applied loads, displaying real-time graphical and numerical information, and enabling the correction of inaccuracies through feedback technology during assisted gait. The secondary objective was to perform a preliminary implementation trial. METHODS The software was designed for indoor use (clinics/laboratories). This software translates the crutch sensor signal in millivolts into force units, records and analyzes data (10-80 Hz), and provides real-time effective curves of the loads exerted on crutches. It covers numerous types of extrinsic feedback, including visual, acoustic (verbal/beeps), concurrent, terminal, and descriptive feedback, and includes a clinical and research use database. An observational descriptive pilot study was performed with 10 healthy subjects experienced in bilateral assisted gait. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test was used to evaluate the load accuracy evolution of each subject (ie, changes in the loads exerted on crutches for each support) among various walks, which was interpreted at the 95% confidence level. RESULTS GCH Control Software was developed as a multifunctional desktop tool complementing GCH System 2.0–instrumented forearm crutches. The pilot implementation of the feedback mechanism observed 96/100 load errors at baseline (walk 0, no feedback) with 7/10 subjects exhibiting crutch overloading. Errors ranged from 61.09% to 203.98%, demonstrating heterogeneity. The double-bar feedback found 54/100 errors in walk 1, 28/100 in walk 2, and 14/100 in walk 3. The first walk with double-bar feedback (walk 1) began with errors similar to the baseline walk, generally followed by attempts at correction. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test used to evaluate each subject’s progress showed that all participants steadily improved the accuracy of the loads applied to the crutches. In particular, Subject 9 required extra feedback with two single-bar walks to focus on the total load. The participants also corrected the load balance between crutches and fluency errors. Three subjects made one error of load balance and one subject made six fluctuation errors during the three double-bar walks. The latter subject performed additional feedback with two balance-bar walks to focus on the load balance. CONCLUSIONS GCH Control Software proved to be useful for monitoring the loads exerted on forearm crutches, providing a variety of feedback for correcting load accuracy, load balance between crutches, and fluency. The findings of the complementary implementation were satisfactory, although clinical trials with larger samples are needed to assess the efficacy of the different feedback mechanisms and to select the best alternatives in each case.

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Biofeedback in partial weight bearing: usability of two different devices from patient's and physical therapist's perspective

Abstract: Background

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Usability Testing of an Interactive Dashboard for Surgical Quality Improvement in a Large Congenital Heart Center

Usability Testing of an Interactive Dashboard for Surgical Quality Improvement in a Large Congenital Heart Center

The use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for managing the complications of ageing related to reduced exercise participation

Versatile GCH Control Software for Correction of Loads Applied to Forearm Crutches During Gait Recovery Through Technological Feedback: Development and Implementation Study (Preprint)

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