Improving Visual-Patient-Avatar Design Prior to Its Clinical Release: A Mixed Qualitative and Quantitative Study

Abstract

Visual-Patient-avatar, an avatar-based visualisation of patient monitoring, is a newly developed technology aiming to promote situation awareness through user-centred design. Before the technology’s introduction into clinical practice, the initial design used to validate the concept had to undergo thorough examination and adjustments where necessary. This mixed qualitative and quantitative study, consisting of three different study parts, aimed to create a design with high user acceptance regarding perceived professionalism and potential for identification while maintaining its original functionality. The first qualitative part was based on structured interviews and explored anaesthesia personnel’s first impressions regarding the original design. Recurrent topics were identified using inductive coding, participants’ interpretations of the vital sign visualisations analysed and design modifications derived. The second study part consisted of a redesign process, in which the visualisations were adapted according to the results of the first part. In a third, quantitative study part, participants rated Likert scales about Visual-Patient-avatar’s appearance and interpreted displayed vital signs in a computer-based survey. The first, qualitative study part included 51 structured interviews. Twenty-eight of 51 (55%) participants mentioned the appearance of Visual-Patient-avatar. In 23 of 51 (45%) interviews, 26 statements about the general impression were identified with a balanced count of positive (14 of 26) and negative (12 of 26) comments. The analysis of vital sign visualisations showed deficits in several vital sign visualisations, especially central venous pressure. These findings were incorporated into part two, the redesign of Visual-Patient-avatar. In the subsequent quantitative analysis of study for part three, 20 of 30 (67%) new participants agreed that the avatar looks professional enough for medical use. Finally, the participants identified 73% (435 of 600 cases) of all vital sign visualisations intuitively correctly without prior instruction. This study succeeded in improving the original design with good user acceptance and a reasonable degree of intuitiveness of the new, revised design. Furthermore, the study identified aspects relevant for the release of Visual-Patient-avatar, such as the requirement for providing at least some training, despite the design’s intuitiveness. The results of this study will guide further research and improvement of the technology. The study provides a link between Visual-Patient-avatar as a scientific concept and as an actual product from a cognitive engineering point of view, and may serve as an example of methods to study the designs of technologies in similar contexts.

Human-centered visualization technologies for patient monitoring are the future: a narrative review

“…After a 6-min educational video (Additional File 1 ), all visualizations eventually reached an inter-rater reliability of > 94%. In a study performed with 30 participants, > 70% of the visualizations of the revised design used in the product were intuitively recognizable without any training [ 50 ].…”

Qualitative Exploration of Anesthesia Providers’ Perceptions Regarding Philips Visual Patient Avatar in Clinical Practice

“…In a previous effort to refine the design of the Visual Patient Avatar prior to its introduction into the clinical setting, users were asked to provide feedback on their perceptions of an earlier version of the technology [34]. Compared to the user perceptions of the Visual Patient Avatar prior to its redesign, this study revealed that the updated version of the technology evoked positive feedback from numerous participants concerning the presentation of specific parameters.…”

Visual Blood, a 3D Animated Computer Model to Optimize the Interpretation of Blood Gas Analysis

“…In two visualisation technologies we previously developed, Visual Patient for patient monitoring and Visual Clot for rotational thromboelastometry, we found the positive effects observed in computer-based simulation studies [ 17 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 30 ] to persist in high-fidelity simulation studies [ 18 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. The substantial effect sizes observed to date with these technologies demonstrates their significant potential to improve decision-making.…”

“…A recent study has shown that visualisations that have a logical relation to reality can be recognised even without an instructional video [ 31 ]. This quality is desirable because there is often little time to obtain explanations in real life.…”