Mattia Pistolesi

n recent years, wearable and robotic technologies are making significant advances in a variety of fields, including medicine and social and health care. The development of research in robotics marks the end of its segregation to mere industrial fields: society is increasingly open to the everyday use of safe and reliable technologies for cooperation and human assistance [1]. On this basis, the key role of designers in the development of human-centered assistive technologies is evident: technologies should be designed according to fundamental human rights and to the needs and expectations of people, supporting their independence and improving their quality of life. The scientific and methodological approaches of Human-Centred Design and Ergonomics for Design can provide a fundamental contribution in the development of technologies that embody universal ethical and socio- cultural values. This paper explores the areas of intervention and the role of design for assistive technologies, with a focus on the national state of the art. This paper also investigates the contribution of design both from a practical point of view (i.e. operational strategies and methodological approaches), and from a research perspective: it underlines the role of the designers as responsible for the dissemination of technologies aimed to support and not to replace the human work.

This paper describes the design and development of a wearable device, able to monitor physiological data, movement and falls, for fragile older person who require health care. Some approaches of Universal Design and Human-Centred Design were used, which allowed to evaluate and design the interaction between the person and the system. From a design point of view, studies on wearability and the most appropriate landmarks of the human body were carried out, suitable for monitoring heartbeat, movement and falls. From an engineering point of view, the main challenge was the miniaturization of the electronic components for the development of a wearable device to be placed on a small surface of the body, able to allow the performance of daily activities without altering the natural movements of the user, also considering the physical limitations of older and fragile people. Our results indicate how digital technologies, specifically wearable, can be a resource to support the independence and psycho-physical well-being of old people. The next step of the research program concerns the experimentation with a significant sample of typical users (elderly and socio-health professionals), both in nursing home and at home.

Human error in healthcare is the third leading cause of death in the United States after cancer and cardiovascular disease. Although human error is determined by multiple conditions that favor the probability of error, the basic idea supported by many scientific studies is that one of the causes is attributable to bad or deficient design of the medical device. If applied in the design phase, the theoretical and operational tools of ergonomics and design exhibit their potential in raising usability levels by responding to the needs of operators, thus limiting the occurrence of errors and developing appropriate forecasting methodologies.

The ICU are crowded with a variety of lung ventilators different from each other in terms of model, graphic interface, controls, management methods and functions made available to the operator. A regional study on the usability of mechanical ventilators involved 41 doctors of varying age and experience, 6 Tuscan hospitals and 17 models of pulmonary ventilators. The Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) was used to quantify the levels of usability. The results suggest a positive reliability of the observed pulmonary ventilators, so the utility of the system was the best considering the independent subscales, followed by user satisfaction, interface quality and information. 

The progressive ageing of the global population is on the one hand a goal of today's society, and at the same time one of the main socio-economic problems of health and pension systems. The transition from hospitalization to home treatment seems to be a first concrete response. The main reasons that push towards the strengthening of home care are also favoured by new technologies applied to health care that aim to contain public spending, through the implementation of innovative services, including medical devices to use at home. At the same time, the increase in risk conditions caused by the complexity of hospital care requires greater attention and immediate intervention, as represented by a study conducted by two researchers at John Hopkins University, who have shown that medical errors are the third leading cause of mortality in America. This volume is addressed to designers, students of Design courses and all those who address the disciplines of the project. To give them a better understanding of the theoretical-practical course described in the book, this has been divided into two parts. The first part, theory, is dedicated to the description of the current scenario in its multiple aspects - diverging phase -, aimed at defining two design strategies that can be used during the development process of a medical product, both for hospital and home use - converging phase -, as described in the second part, dedicated to practice and experimentation.

The European population is getting older; many elderlies would like to live independently in their homes as long as possible. In this context, a robotic telepresence service could support the frail persons in their homes, empowering their social relationships. In this work, 10 frail elderly were asked to live with a telepresence robot (i.e. Double Robot), through which the formal caregiver could remotely visit and chat with them. A total of 169 days of field-test trial was evaluated before (TO) and after (TF) the tests with a multidimensional framework, including acceptance, usability, and expectation domains. The system was used for 2871 mins, and the results underline good usability- and acceptance- related domains (average score equals to 70.83 at TF) and expectation (average score equal to 67.01 at TF). Results remark that expectation could influence the potential and the real use of the robot. Additionally, a positive trend in the answers was identified between T0 and TF. Indeed, the evaluation of a system should envisage a complex, multidisciplinary and holistic approach, that may influence the success or failure of the robot's purpose, if not properly analysed during the evaluation and design phase.

The specificity and innovative value of the ergonomic approach to design lies in its ability to evaluate the range of variables that define the interaction between people and what they come into contact with (that is, the characteristics and abilities of users; the characteristics of products and the activities for which they are, or can be, used; the characteristics of the physical, social and organisational context), their reciprocal relationship and what could change with time, by periodically identifying and interpreting the needs and expectations that people express, or can express, regarding this interaction. The design intervention, then, is based on the ability to understand, interpret—and imagine—the different situations and scenarios in which people can, or could, come into contact with the system, by identifying the range of variables involved and the complexity that defines their reciprocal relationship. This is achieved by defining the system of requirements that are needed for the product and the necessary parameters and criteria for evaluating and designing the quality of the product. Ergonomics’ intervention methods allow us to define and manage these relation- ships, organise the data collected during the design process and define the integrated intervention requirements. In particular, the methods for evaluating usability and safety of use, as well as the methods for evaluating the User Experience, are based on the collection of informa- tion about the interaction between people and products and systems they come into contact with within a given usage context. They also allow us to identify and analyse the behaviour of people (or users), their needs (needs, expectations and desires) and, finally, the type and frequency of the errors that they can make while performing the required tasks.

Some people may find it difficult to manage products or interact with systems. This is mostly due to product design and not to final user. In healthcare the medical devices that highlight design flaws can cause operating errors and generate adverse events. Despite manufactures of medical devices claim that Human Factors have a high priority in their projects, few of these are flawless products from the perspective of design and human-machine interface. These considerations have led us to conduct an ergonomic evaluation and usability requirements of anesthesia workstation recently acquired with a public procedure and introduced at different times, in two Tuscan hospitals. Interview, Hierarchical task analysis, User Observation, Questionnaire, and Gap Analysis were used for this study. The evaluations were conducted with medical personnel.

Poster presented at the 14th Risk Management Forum Human error in healthcare is the third leading cause of death in America, after cancer and cardiovascular disease. Although human error in healthcare is determined by multiple conditions and variables that increase the likelihood of error, the underlying idea, as supported by numerous scientific studies, confirms that one of the main causes can be traced back to poor and substandard design of medical devices.
 When applied at the design stage, the theoretical and operational tools of Ergonomics for Design and the Human-Centred Design approach demonstrate their potential to increase usability levels by meeting the needs of operators who use medical products on a daily basis, thus reducing the occurrence of errors and developing appropriate forecasting methodologies.

The human being was born to move and physical activity is one of the main functions of the human-being. According to WHO, the physical inactivity is identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality and its levels are rising in many countries nowadays. Systemic and environmental factors, busy life, laziness and lack of time promote a sedentary lifestyle as opposed to a healthy lifestyle. Movement and physical activity contribute to improving all aspects of the quality of life, and they representing a strategic tool for healthy aging. WHO identifies the active ageing ad a “global demographic revolution”, which requires an immediate international action. In this context, the Horizon 2020 European Community for Research and Innovation Framework Programme aimes to the safeguarding of population health, including young and older people, and to the promoting lifestyle patterns which are able to preserve human independence over time, thus favouring a form of ageing being active, sustainable, inclusive and healthy as long as possible. The spread of physical activity, like common practice of everyday life, and the education to sport from an early age, are basic targets to improve quality of life both at individual and at social level. These objectives require the development of a conscious behaviour and an increasing empowering the people about their health status. Wellness challenge is directed at the innovation of the urban design, and in this context the design, like strategic factor of innovation, can contribute to generating innovative and inclusive products and services that support people in choosing an healthy and active lifestyle. The main objective is to propose new scenarios and product-systems that can promote physical activity outdoor. The role of design is essential to identify new solution and intervention strategies based on the knowledge and on the interpretation of persons’ needs and expectation. The research on this subject has been consolidated for years the collaboration between Technogym, company leader in this field, and Laboratory of Ergonomics & Design. The Ergonomics for Design, the methodological approach of Human-Centred Design and the potentialities of smart technologies allow to identify possible development scenarios and intervention solutions, focused on persons’ needs and expectations. These solutions can nudge people to an active life, promoting wellness and prevention in terms of commitment to themselves and social responsibility. The partnership between LED and Technogym has developed over years using research, experimentation and co-design activities. It produces several results in terms of actual products-services testing and in terms of design concepts for new products and services. Specifically, in the “wellness outdoor” area, they’ve been developed several concepts with innovative formal and functional features, that can improve the interaction between user and environment. These concepts are focused on training methods (and their diversity at multiple levels), on the possibility to have a group or an individual training supported by digital devices or services (such as mobile applications, local information systems, etc.). Design concepts have been developed during two workshops in which were involved young designers and students of the Master Degree in Design. Design concepts have been developed during two workshops, held in 2016 and 2017 by the LED, involving approximately 20 young designers. Main aim of the workshops was to develop a series of new outdoor fitness systems - for gardens, parks, campus, etc. – that could be more attractive for people thanks to their formal and communicational features. These systems allow people to train outdoor and aim to become a pole of attraction and sharing in the urban context.