User-centered design of graphical user interfaces for telemedical robotic systems: development and usability study.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Medical Robotics
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Telemedical systems require intuitive Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for effective clinical use.
• Prior research often focused on system integration rather than the clinician's direct interface.
• The GUI is the primary interaction point for clinicians in telemedical robotic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop telemedical GUIs using User-centered Design (UCD) methods.
• To focus on GUI development as the clinician's primary interface.
• To create a modular and generalized GUI architecture adaptable to different telemedical robotic systems.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage, user-centered design process was employed.
• A modular GUI architecture was developed and adapted for a Robotic Ultrasound System (RUSS) and a Tension Pneumothorax (tPTX) system.
• Physicians co-designed and evaluated GUIs using mixed methods, including System Usability Scale (SUS), adapted heuristics, and eye-tracking.

Main Results:

• UCD methods significantly benefit the development of GUIs for telemedical robotic systems.
• Repeated use of the modular GUI architecture increased clinician efficiency and demonstrated cross-scenario learning transfer.
• Mixed-methods evaluation provided comprehensive insights, identified outliers, and revealed design issues missed by single methods.

Conclusions:

• A user-centered GUI development process with iterative evaluations enhances telemedical robotic system usability for medical professionals.
• A modular GUI architecture facilitates training effect transfer across different implementations and clinical scenarios.
• Preserving high-level structures and interaction concepts in modular GUIs supports consistent user experience.