Repertoire: UC engineer talks about human factors in medicine
Biomedical engineering professor says ease of use is a big factor in every new product
Repertoire magazine, a trade publication for health care distributors, spoke to a University of Cincinnati biomedical engineer about why it's important to consider how doctors and patients will use medical products when designing them.
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science professor Mary Beth Privitera told Repertoire that each product should consider whom will use it, including the user's language, education or skill level and even relevant cultural norms.
Designers also must consider in what setting the medical product will be used.
"No product development occurs where the goal isn't ease of use," said Privitera, who serves as co-chair for the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation's Human Engineering Committee. "But sometimes it gets lost."
Privitera said the industry has advanced greatly over the years, in part because of regulations governing product evaluations.
"The fact of the matter is, we've realized we can't develop safe medical devices without considering usability," Privitera told Repertoire. "Ten years ago, we were just recognizing the need to take into account human factors. The conversation has changed: Now, it's about what constitutes good human factors engineering."
Featured image at top: Blood collection tubes. Photo/Freestocks/Unsplash
Related Stories
OTR mural centerpiece of 'big' celebration of UC alumni
April 26, 2024
New downtown artwork salutes 18 alumni award recipients who personify UC’s alumni success.
UC education allowed couple to make mark on Cincinnati
April 24, 2024
As a native of Defiance, Ohio, John Deatrick, CEAS ’79, says arriving in Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati in 1963 felt like landing in New York City.
Engineering student studying flight physics of birds
April 24, 2024
After earning a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in Nepal, Sameer Pokhrel came to the United States to further his education. From an early age, he had a lifelong fascination with aviation. As an adult, he transformed this fascination into a career, pursuing a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati's historic program. Here, he has succeeded in research, instruction, and was recently named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by the College of Engineering and Applied Science.