From virtual to augmented reality: Enhancing ICU Alarm Interfaces for Improved Medical Monitoring

09.09.2024, Diplomarbeiten, Bachelor- und Masterarbeiten

The Human-Centered Computing and Extended Reality Lab of the Professorship for Machine Intelligence in Orthopedics seeks applicants for Bachelor/Master Thesis for the Winter Semester 24/25 until 30th of September 2024.

Overview

ICU staff face significant stress due to frequent alarms from multiple monitoring devices. Augmented Reality (AR) offers potential for improving alarm distribution and patient monitoring, but optimal communication methods are still unclear. This thesis will transfer AR visualization interfaces, previously tested in a virtual reality simulation, to an AR Head-Mounted Display (HMD). The visualizations will be evaluated in a user study with medical experts to compare their feedback with simulation results, aiming to assess effectiveness and consistency.

Background & Motivation

Medical staff working in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are constantly exposed to numerous alarms from various monitoring devices, creating a stimulus-saturated environment that significantly contributes to the stress and workload experienced by nurses [1]. Augmented Reality (AR) has emerged as a promising tool for enhancing alarm distribution and patient monitoring [2, 3]. However, the optimal method for communicating this information effectively remains undetermined. Therefore, various visualizations were evaluated in silico using a virtual reality simulation [4]. The goal of this thesis is to transfer the interfaces tested within the simulation to an actual AR Head-Mounted Display (HMD). These visualizations will then be assessed in a user study with medical experts. Thereby, it is of interest not only to see how the individual visualizations are rated by the test subjects but also to what extent these ratings overlap with those obtained from the simulation.

Student’s Task

• Reviewing the Relevant Literature: Conduct a thorough review of existing research on AR applications and ICU alarm systems.
• Transfer the Visualizations: Move the tested visualizations from the virtual reality simulation to an AR Head-Mounted Display (HMD).
• Study Design: Develop and structure the user study methodology, including protocols for evaluating the AR visualizations with expert users.
• Evaluating the Prototype: Conduct the user study with medical experts to assess the effectiveness of the AR visualizations and compare their feedback with simulation results.

Technical Prerequisites

Experience with AR/VR development tools and platforms. Prior experience in the design and structuring of user studies would be advantageous. Students should further be comfortable with interacting with users of the system to acquire insights and run a study with expert users.

Please send your transcript of records, CV and motivation to Luisa Theelke (luisa.theelke@tum.de) with CC to hex-thesis.ortho@mh.tum.de

Literature
[1] Keith J Ruskin and Dirk Hueske-Kraus. “Alarm fatigue: impacts on patient safety”. In: Current Opinion in Anesthesiology 28.6 (2015), pp. 685–690.
[2] Pascale, M. T., Sanderson, P., Liu, D., Mohamed, I., Brecknell, B., & Loeb, R. G. (2019). The Impact of Head-Worn Displays on Strategic Alarm Management and Situation Awareness. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 61(4), 537–563.
[3] Kimmel, S., Cobus, V., & Heuten, W. (2021). opticARe—Augmented Reality Mobile Patient Monitoring in Intensive Care Units. Proceedings of the 27th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, 1–11.
[4] Theelke, L., Metzler, F. L., Kreimeier, J., Hauer, C., Binder, J., & Roth, D. (2023, October). Investigating the Effects of Selective Information Presentation in Intensive Care Units Using Virtual Reality. In 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) (pp. 195-204). IEEE.

Kontakt: luisa.theelke@tum.de, hex-thesis.ortho@mh.tum.de

More Information

https://hex-lab.io