Exploring Usability Standards in Robotic Rehabilitation: A Meta-Analysis of System Usability Scale Scores

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Robotic devices are increasingly used in rehabilitation, demanding rigorous usability assessments for effective human-robot interaction.
• Assessing the usability of these complex systems is crucial for their successful adoption and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis of System Usability Scale (SUS) scores in robotics-assisted rehabilitation.
• To determine if current robotic rehabilitation devices meet the standard SUS benchmark.
• To identify factors influencing usability across different user groups and device types.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search to identify relevant studies.
• Meta-analysis of 67 studies evaluating robotic rehabilitation device usability.
• Categorization of devices into 8 types (e.g., exoskeletons, end effectors).
• Extraction of SUS scores, user demographics, and scoring origin.

Main Results:

• Robotic rehabilitation devices achieved a good average usability score of 74.
• Most studies had limited sample sizes (average 13 participants).
• Statistically significant deviations from the standard SUS benchmark were observed across most device categories.

Conclusions:

• Robotic rehabilitation devices generally demonstrate good usability but often deviate from standard benchmarks.
• The findings emphasize the need for specialized usability standards for rehabilitation robotics.
• Future research should prioritize larger sample sizes and investigate device- and user-specific usability challenges.