Acceptability and Usability of an Ambulatory Health Monitoring System for Use by Military Personnel

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS

A physiological status monitoring system was evaluated for use by soldiers in the field. Two different designs were evaluated, with the design based on previous human factors evaluations proven to be more comfortable and acceptable for use. This study demonstrated that the advanced design of the EQ-02 physiological status monitoring system met dismounted soldier needs. Furthermore, this study validated the use of a usability evaluation in the successful design/advancement of a physiological status monitoring system.

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT

Background: Previous research has shown that the form factor of a physiological status monitoring system, the Equivital™ EQ-01 (Hidalgo Ltd., Cambridge, UK) had problems associated with comfort and usability of the system for soldiers. Previous data gathered was used to guide improvements in the physiological status monitoring system. Purpose: Assess whether the previous feedback from usability evaluations helped guide improvements in comfort, acceptability, and usability of a physiological status monitoring system for dismounted soldiers. Improvements to the EQ-01 system were incorporated into the next-generation EQ-02 (Hidalgo Ltd., Cambridge, UK) system. Methods: Thirty-nine infantry dismounted soldiers were randomly assigned to wear either an EQ-01 or EQ-02 system while performing standard military field training. They filled out a survey on fit, comfort, irritation to the body, impact on military performance, and acceptability. They then wore the other system and filled out the same survey. Results: The Equivital™ EQ-02 system was superior in terms of fit (51% better in overall fit), ease of donning (10% easier), comfort (45% more comfortable), impact on military performance (45% less impact), impact on the body (17% less impact), and acceptability (32% more acceptable). All these measures are subjective self-report ratings. Conclusions: A human factors engineering approach provided an effective means of guiding improvements and the production of a physiological status monitoring system that dismounted soldiers were more likely to accept and wear.

KEYWORDS:

• Telemedicine
• remote monitoring
• wearable electronics
• comfort
• human factors

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Alex Welles, Alyssa Carter, Cynthia Clements, and Miyo Yokota for their assistance in data collection. They also thank the leadership at Fort Bragg and Fort Hood for their willingness to incorporate this research project into their training exercises. Gratitude is expressed to the soldiers that participated in this study.

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