Usability of therapy controllers in elderly patients with deep brain stimulation

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Gerontology

Background:

• Increasing prevalence of technical devices in healthcare.
• Older adults require more support for technology adoption.
• Limited research on the usability of deep brain stimulation (DBS) patient controllers in the elderly.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate factors influencing elderly DBS patients' performance with Medtronic Access therapy controllers.
• Assess usability aspects of DBS patient controllers in older adults.

Main Methods:

• Compared controller usage (time, errors, frequency) in 41 elderly DBS patients with over six years of controller experience.
• One group received video instruction and hands-on training; the control group received only hands-on training.
• Re-evaluated patients after six months to compare training effects.

Main Results:

• The video-instruction group made significantly fewer errors than the control group at both baseline and follow-up.
• Both groups showed improved speed and increased controller usage after six months.
• Hands-on training, especially when combined with video instruction, enhanced performance.

Conclusions:

• Elderly DBS patients, even long-term users, face challenges operating their devices.
• Age-specific training, including video and hands-on components, can improve performance in older adults.
• Future DBS controller design should prioritize end-user needs, while supplementary training can mitigate current usability issues.