A Systematic Review of Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) Research in Medical and Other Engineering Fields

Abstract

This article provides a systematic review of research related to Human–Computer Interaction techniques supporting training and learning in various domains including medicine, healthcare, and engineering. The focus is on HCI techniques involving Extended Reality (XR) technology which encompasses Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality. HCI-based research is assuming more importance with the rapid adoption of XR tools and techniques in various training and learning contexts including education. There are many challenges in the adoption of HCI approaches, which results in a need to have a comprehensive and systematic review of such HCI methods in various domains. This article addresses this need by providing a systematic literature review of a cross-section of HCI approaches involving proposed so far. The PRISMA-guided search strategy identified 1156 articles for abstract review. Irrelevant abstracts were discarded. The whole body of each article was reviewed for the remaining articles, and those that were not linked to the scope of our specific issue were also eliminated. Following the application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, 69 publications were chosen for review. This article has been divided into the following sections: Introduction; Research methodology; Literature review; Threats of validity; Future research and Conclusion. Detailed classifications (pertaining to HCI criteria and concepts, such as affordance; training, and learning techniques) have also been included based on different parameters based on the analysis of research techniques adopted by various investigators. The article concludes with a discussion of the key challenges for this HCI area along with future research directions. A review of the research outcomes from these publications underscores the potential for greater success when such HCI-based approaches are adopted during such 3D-based training interactions. Such a higher degree of success may be due to the emphasis on the design of user-friendly (and user-centric) training environments, interactions, and processes that positively impact the cognitive abilities of users and their respective learning/training experiences. We discovered data validating XR-HCI as an ascending method that brings a new paradigm by enhancing skills and safety while reducing costs and learning time through replies to three exploratory study questions. We believe that the findings of this study will aid academics in developing new research avenues that will assist XR-HCI applications to mature and become more widely adopted.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this research was provided through grants from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) and the National Science Foundation (grant numbers 2028077, 2106901, 2050960, and 1748091).

Notes on contributors

Alireza Sadeghi Milani

Alireza Sadeghi Milani is the lead graduate researcher pursuing his doctoral studies at the Center for Cyber-Physical Systems in the Computer Science department at Oklahoma State University (OSU); he also coordinates various research activities in HCI, XR simulation, CPS, and information-centric modeling.

Aaron Cecil-Xavier

Aaron Cecil-Xavier recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin. He will be joining the University of Michigan’s master’s program in Educational Studies. His research interests include cognitive psychology, visual perception, and applications of technology in STEM education.

Avinash Gupta

Avinash Gupta is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Industrial and Systems Engineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on smart health, CPS, XR simulators for healthcare, space-systems, and learning contexts.

J. Cecil

J. Cecil is a Professor in Computer Science and Co-Director of the Center for Cyber-Physical Systems at OSU. His interests are broadly in Information Centric Engineering including the design of HCI-based XR simulators and IoT/CPS frameworks to support cyber-physical collaboration in smart health, advanced manufacturing, space systems and STEM education.

Shelia Kennison

Shelia Kennison is a professor of psychology at Oklahoma State University. She received her PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her AB from Harvard University. Her research area is cognitive science. Her current research on individual differences in cybersecurity behavior is funded by the National Science Foundation.