Usability testing to evaluate user experience on cyclers for automated peritoneal dialysis

Abstract

Background In the development of medical devices usability is an important aspect standing alongside performance and safety. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) can be provided by use of automated PD (APD), assisted by a cycler performing the solution exchanges. The present study has been executed to simulate training on APD cyclers to evaluate learnability and usability through established questionnaires. Methods Usability of two APD cyclers (sleep•safe harmony, Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homburg, Germany and HomeChoice Pro, Baxter International Inc., Deerfield (IL), USA) were evaluated with the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ), the NASA TLX Questionnaire, and the System Usability Scale (SUS), both after training and after experience sessions. Results Lay persons (n = 10) and health care personnel (HCPs, n = 11) participated in the study. The respondents consistently gave positive ratings in the UEQ after training and experience session. The ratings from the NASA TLX Questionnaire were mostly below 50 points indicating a low workload. Lay users and HCPs gave high ratings in the SUS evaluation both after the training and experience sessions confirming a good learnability and usability of the devices. Conclusions The usability study to assess learnability and use-related safety revealed consistent results with all applied instruments, which demonstrated good learnability and ease-of-use of the studied APD cyclers.

A New Cycler for Automated Peritoneal Dialysis to Provide Efficient Dialysis and Improved Sleep Quality

“…Therefore, usability and patient satisfaction are essential in the design of APD cyclers. This is relevant to enable easy-to-train cyclers [18, 19] but also to facilitate daily usage by the patients. Duration of training was not an aim of this study but was in most patients, according to nurses’ reports, achieved within 1 week.…”