A Summative Usability Evaluation of an Infusion Pump Through Simulation-Based Testing With Nurses: Mixed Approach...

Area of Science:

• Medical device design
• Human-computer interaction
• Patient safety engineering

Background:

• Suboptimal infusion pump design can lead to patient safety risks.
• Usability evaluations are crucial for identifying and rectifying design flaws.
• Existing research often has limitations in infusion pump task design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the usability of the SLGO SP-200 infusion pump.
• To identify interface design deficiencies through simulation-based testing.
• To assess the pump's usability in an intensive care unit simulation.

Main Methods:

• 12 registered nurses performed 12 operational and 7 knowledge tasks.
• Behavioral measures (task time, errors, assistance) and perceptions were collected.
• Usability laboratory simulating an intensive care unit environment was used.

Main Results:

• Nurses generally completed tasks efficiently (operational <3 min, knowledge <2 min).
• Identified 79 difficult operations, 9 near-misses, and 36 failures.
• Participants perceived the pump as user-friendly with low mental workload and error likelihood.

Conclusions:

• Study findings inform infusion pump design improvements.
• Results aid in defining use risks and training content.
• Provides a reference for medical device usability evaluation schemes.