Usability evaluation of a MR system for remote support during ECMO within clinical environment

Abstract

Intensive care treatment entails significant risks for patient health. For troubleshooting extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an essential intervention for supporting cardiac and pulmonary function, often perfusionists must be present on-site. This causes delays in treatment. Mixed reality (MR)–based remote support may help bridge these delays; however, high system usability is essential to ensure its contribution to patient safety. Therefore, an MR system for remote support is evaluated within a clinical environment through a usability test followed by a user survey. During the test, participants resolved two simulated ECMO malfunctions while receiving remote guidance via the MR system. A test manager assessed the subtasks and recorded processing times. Finally, user acceptance and experience were evaluated using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). The usability test was performed in two U.S. hospitals involving 19 intensive care nurses. In both scenarios high troubleshooting performance was observed: success rates reached 90% each. Average solution times were 4:10 (±1:16) minutes and 3:32 (±0:44) minutes. The system reached a SUS score of 83±12, indicating good usability. Consistent with this result, UEQ measured excellent scores in every usability and user experience aspect. These findings demonstrate that MR-based remote support can effectively assist intensive care nurses in resolving ECMO incidents, which may contribute to improved patient safety. However, the simulated conditions of the usability tests and the novelty of the technology may have positively biased ratings. Future research should investigate performance during real emergency use and evaluate long-term acceptance after repeated exposure.

Keywords: Mixed Reality, Telemedicine, Remote Support, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, User-centred Development

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1008052