Telemetry Simulation
Project Overview
In order to determine possible factors that could be increasing the cognitive load of a telemetry operator we recreated a hospital telemetry station in virtual reality. The intention was to have operators act as study participants, playing through simulation while we collected physiological data to measure their cognitive load.
Project DELIVERABLEs
- Virtual Reality Simulation
- Research Paper
- Conference Presentation
Background
Hospital telemetry stations are places where a group of operators monitor the vitals of certain patients, often those in the ICU, and alert the medical staff when something is going wrong. If an operator misses an alert it may have fatal outcomes for the patient. This study was designed to discover what elements of the telemetry operating environment may be having an effect on cognitive load and thereby increasing the likelihood of operator error.
Method
To discover what elements may have been effecting cognitive load we re-created a hospital telemetry station in virtual reality using Unity. The simulation was then run in our CAVE where participants would be able to interact with the screen in the simulated environment using the mouse. Physiological data was to be collected to determine how the different VR scenarios we created would effect the participants' cognitive load.
Outcomes
In Fall 2014 we published and presented a paper at Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Our paper focused on the novel methodology of using virtual reality to mimic safety critical situations.
Read the full publication here.