M5 | Usability and User Experience (UX) of Medical Devices

The value of a medical system depends heavily on its ease of use and accessibility. Learning how the principles of design and evaluation affect user experience will allow users to enable assessment of the quality of medical devices, and inform feedback and contribute to the improvement of such systems. The aim of this module is to provide training about the principles of user interface design and evaluation in the context of medical devices and eHealth applications, to improve their performance, users’ acceptance and satisfaction.

Training about the principles of user centered design and evaluation in the context of medical devices and eHealth applications to improve their performance, users’ acceptance and satisfaction. The value of a medical system for its users depends largely on the ease of use of the system and its accessibility. Learning the principles of design and evaluation will allow users to judge the quality of medical devices, provide their feedback and contribute to the design and improvement of such systems.

The module will focus on the following main topics:                           

• Introduction to Usability-UX and its importance
• Understanding the stages of Design Thinking, its application and methods
  
• Supporting methods to include: interview and observational techniques, focus groups, task analysis and personas
• Techniques for documenting and collecting technology user requirements
• Introduction into clinical investigations
• The needs of diverse users; accessibility guidelines (WCAG), plain language and related methodologies, design, implementation and evaluation of an accessibility audit
• Risk assessments and identification of risks to users when a device is not usable
• Cognitive walkthrough of expert reviews
• Methodologies for usability evaluation in clinical settings
• Conducting usability evaluations and methodologies in clinical settings

Mireia Ribera

Mireia Ribera holds a PhD in Digital Documentation (Universitat de Barcelona). She is a senior researcher in accessibility and usability and lecturer at the Universitat de Barcelona, Departament de Matemàtiques i Informàtica (Computer Science and Mathematics Department). She has participated in many national and European projects, and also assesses companies and public organizations on accessibility / user experience / visualization issues.