Introducing a Remote Patient Monitoring Usability Impact Model to Overcome Challenges.

Telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM), in particular, have been through a massive surge of adoption since 2020. This initiative has proven potential for the patient and the healthcare provider in areas such as reductions in the cost of care. While home-use medical devices or wearables have been shown to be beneficial, a literature review illustrates challenges with the data generated, driven by limited device usability. This could lead to inaccurate data when an exam is completed without clinical supervision, with the consequence that incorrect data lead to improper treatment. Upon further analysis of the existing literature, the RPM Usability Impact model is introduced. The goal is to guide researchers and device manufacturers to increase the usability of wearable and home-use medical devices in the future. The importance of this model is highlighted when the user-centered design process is integrated, which is needed to develop these types of devices to provide the proper user experience.

Introducing the Pi-CON Methodology to Overcome Usability Deficits during Remote Patient Monitoring.

The adoption of telehealth has soared, and with that the acceptance of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and virtual care. A review of the literature illustrates, however, that poor device usability can impact the generated data when using Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD) devices, such as wearables or home use medical devices, when used outside a health facility. The Pi-CON methodology is introduced to overcome these challenges and guide the definition of user-friendly and intuitive devices in the future. Pi-CON stands for passive, continuous, and non-contact, and describes the ability to acquire health data, such as vital signs, continuously and passively with limited user interaction and without attaching any sensors to the patient. The paper highlights the advantages of Pi-CON by leveraging various sensors and techniques, such as radar, remote photoplethysmography, and infrared. It illustrates potential concerns and discusses future applications Pi-CON could be used for, including gait and fall monitoring by installing an omnipresent sensor based on the Pi-CON methodology. This would allow automatic data collection once a person is recognized, and could be extended with an integrated gateway so multiple cameras could be installed to enable data feeds to a cloud-based interface, allowing clinicians and family members to monitor patient health status remotely at any time.

Applying user-centered design and the Pi-CON methodology for vital signs sensor development.

Although telehealth, and in particular RPM, have demonstrated to drive many benefits, such as reduction in cost and hospital-acquired infections, previous research has shown many usability challenges when patients operate a medical device without supervision of a medical professional. To combat this issue, the Pi-CON methodology is applied to develop a novel sensor with the objective to continuously acquire a patient's vital signs from a distance, without the need to attach any markers or sensors to the patient, and with limited user interaction required. Pi-CON stands for passive, continuous and non-contact, and describes a way to improve the user experience for patients or caregivers that have a need to perform a vital signs measurement themselves, without the presence of a medical professional. The developed sensor utilises radar and optical sensing technologies and transmits acquired data to a cloud-based service where it can be viewed in near real-time by the patient or family members from anywhere via an intuitive user interface. This user interface, as well as the sensor itself were designed based on design needs and requirements to adhere to the user-centered design process. The development of the sensor, including utilised technologies, components, and the user interface are presented, including inspirations for future work.