HOME MEDICAL DEVICE DESIGN FOR THE ELDERLY

老龄化的美国人口对已经存在的 负担过重和昂贵的医疗保健系统。 家庭保健是一种 替代方案，有相当大的承诺减轻负担和成本。 利用先进技术的医疗设备将成为一个增长因素 家庭医疗保健。 一个重要的问题是老年人的能力 人们安全有效地操作这些设备。 本研究建议通过以下方式解决这一问题：（a）描述 认知、感觉和身体能力以及 可能影响家用医疗设备运行的老年人，以及（B） 将认知工程和人为因素分析应用于选定的家庭 医疗器械及其说明材料。 第一阶段研究 将识别和评估器械设计和指导因素， 严重影响老年人的设备使用。 该研究将为（a）改进设备提供有价值的信息 为老年用户提供设计和教学材料指南，（B） 推荐技术创新，如在线帮助系统， 语音技术，以及（c）扩大体外自我测试的范围，（d） 建议联邦关于必要器械特征的指南，以及（e） 为老年用户定制用户设备界面。

The aging American Population is exerting increasing demands on an already overburdened and costly health care system. Home health care is an alternative that has considerable promise alleviating burdens and costs. Medical devices utilizing advanced technology will be an increasing factor in home health care. An important issue concerns the ability of older people to operate these devices safely and effectively. This research proposal addresses this issue by (a) characterizing the cognitive, sensory, and physical capabilities and limitations of the elderly that can impact upon the operation of home medical devices and (b) applying cognitive engineering and human factors analyses to selected home medical devices and their instructional materials. The Phase I research will identify and evaluate device design and instructional factors that critically affect device use by the elderly. This research will provide valuable information for (a) improving device design and instructional material guidelines for elderly users, (b) recommending technological innovations such as on-line help systems and voice technology, and (c) expanding the scope of in vitro self-testing, (d) suggesting federal guidelines for requisite device features, and (e) tailoring the user-device interface to elderly users.