A formal statechart model of immediate neonatal adaptation guidelines

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Medicine
• Medical Informatics
• Systems Engineering

Background:

• Optimal umbilical cord clamping relies on physiological criteria, offering significant infant benefits.
• The National University of Colombia developed the Immediate Neonatal Adaptation Guideline for Physiologically-based Cord Clamping.

Purpose of the Study:

• To visually represent the Immediate Neonatal Adaptation Guideline using a statechart model for enhanced clarity.
• To assess the efficacy of statechart models in depicting medical guidelines for educational and training purposes within a human-centric approach.

Main Methods:

• A statechart model was developed for the guideline through progressive refinement by medical professionals and engineers.
• The model consists of 20 states, 38 events, and 4 superstates.
• An interdisciplinary panel evaluated the model's clarity and utility.

Main Results:

• The statechart model provides a clear visual language for the guideline.
• It facilitates explicit identification of patient states, criteria, and clinical indicators.
• Feedback highlighted the model's versatility, usability, scalability, and moderate visual complexity.

Conclusions:

• Statechart models are effective tools for representing complex medical guidelines.
• This visual approach enhances understanding and training for physiologically-based cord clamping procedures.