Factors affecting ultrasound usability in speech therapy

我们的合作伙伴Clarius开发了无线医疗超声换能器，可将超声图像传输到 ** 移动的设备（iOS或Android）进行可视化，为医疗从业人员提供了低成本的移动的 ** 成像解决方案，适用于急诊科或全科医生办公室。Clarius现在正在考虑向语言治疗的利基市场扩张，在那里，舌头的超声成像正在成为一种治疗持续性发音障碍的视觉生物反馈方法。然而，尚不清楚Clarius的 ** 技术是否满足该市场的可用性要求。本项目旨在了解基于超声成像生物反馈的语言治疗中的可用性要求，因为它们与语言治疗师及其患者有关，并确定无线传感器提供的帧速率和图像质量以及简化的基于应用程序的用户界面是否满足这些要求。这个项目包括两个可用性研究。第一项研究涉及语言治疗师的经验与用户界面，并将 ** 侧重于简化的用户界面的可学习性及其在基于生物反馈的语言治疗环境中的效率。这些可用性维度将通过分析治疗师与 ** 设备的交互以及由摄像机记录的他们的思路（将被大声表达）以及 ** 问卷来评估。第二项可用性研究关注提供给患者的生物反馈体验，** 更具体地说，关注超声视觉生物反馈的有效性，作为图像质量 ** 和帧速率的函数。这些可用性维度将通过评估健康参与者 ** 在不同图像质量和帧 ** 速率水平下提供生物反馈的情况下再现令牌舌头运动的能力来评估。如果Clarius决定在我们研究的基础上向语言治疗师和语言科学家推广其无线超声成像技术，超声成像技术可能会被加拿大语言治疗师更广泛地用作治疗工具，从而改善许多患者的语言清晰度和生活质量。

Our partner, Clarius, developed wireless medical ultrasound transducers that transmit ultrasound images to**mobile devices (iOS or Android) for visualization, providing medical practitioners with a low cost, mobile**imaging solution for emergency departments or the general practitioner's office. Clarius is now considering an**expansion towards the niche market of speech therapy, where ultrasound imaging of the tongue is emerging as**a visual biofeedback method to treat persistent articulatory disorders. However, it is unknown whether Clarius's**technology satisfies this market's usability requirements. This project aims at understanding usability**requirements in the context of ultrasound imaging biofeedback-based speech therapy, as they pertain to speech**therapists and their patients, and to determine whether the frame rate and image quality provided by a wireless**transducer, and a simplified app-based user interface address these requirements. This project consists of two**usability studies. The first study concerns the speech therapist's experience with the user interface, and will**focus on the learnability of the simplified user interface and its efficiency in the biofeedback-based speech**therapy context. These dimensions of usability will be evaluated by analyzing therapists' interactions with the**device and their train of thought (to be expressed aloud) as recorded by a video camera, as well as**questionnaires. The second usability study focuses on the biofeedback experience offered to the patient and**more specifically concerns the effectiveness of ultrasound visual biofeedback as a function of image quality**and frame rate. These dimensions of usability will be assessed by evaluating the ability of healthy participants**to reproduce token tongue motions with biofeedback provided at different levels of image quality and frame**rates. Should Clarius decide to market its wireless ultrasound imaging technology to speech therapists and**speech scientists on the basis of improvements resulting from our research, ultrasound imaging technology may**be adopted as a therapeutic instrument more widely by Canadian speech therapists, thereby improving many**patients' speech intelligibility and quality of life.