Usable Data Visualization for Digital Biomarkers: An Analysis of Usability, Data Sharing, and Clinician Contact

While digital phenotyping smartphone apps can collect vast amounts of information on participants, less is known about how these data can be shared back. Data visualization is critical to ensuring applications of digital signals and biomarkers are more informed, ethical, and impactful. But little is known about how sharing of these data, especially at different levels from raw data through proposed biomarkers, impacts patients' perceptions.

We compared five different graphs generated from data created by the open source mindLAMP app that reflected different ways to share data, from raw data through digital biomarkers and correlation matrices. All graphs were shown to 28 participants, and the graphs' usability was measured via the System Usability Scale (SUS). Additionally, participants were asked about their comfort sharing different kinds of data, administered the Digital Working Alliance Inventory (D-WAI), and asked if they would want to use these visualizations with care providers.

Of the five graphs shown to participants, the graph visualizing change in survey responses over the course of a week received the highest usability score, with the graph showing multiple metrics changing over a week receiving the lowest usability score. Participants were significantly more likely to be willing to share Global Positioning System data after viewing the graphs, and 25 of 28 participants agreed that they would like to use these graphs to communicate with their clinician.

Data visualizations can help participants and patients understand digital biomarkers and increase trust in how they are created. As digital biomarkers become more complex, simple visualizations may fail to capture their multiple dimensions, and new interactive data visualizations may be necessary to help realize their full value.