User Experience Design Portfolio of Anatoly Slobodskoy

Ornim Medical specializes in the clinical research, development, and distribution of medical devices in the field of tissue and cerebral blood flow and perfusion.

The company’s lead product, the c-FLOW, is a bedside patient monitor that provides physicians with monitoring solutions in the field of tissue and cerebral blood flow and perfusion. The task was to overhaul the user experience and user interface design for c-FLOW monitoring tool to create a frictionless experience for touch screen device.

My Role

Oversight & Coordination
I partnered with UX Researcher to uncover insights and translate concepts into features that address customer behaviours and motivations.
Design Execution & Validation
I designed down on 4:3, touch screen device. I executed journeys, wireframes, prototypes and design specs.

Results
Increased sales of c-FLOW™ after a soft launch at a number of centers of excellence around US and it had been installed at 30 hospitals.

The Challenge

There is no effective bedside monitoring solution.

There is no effective bedside monitoring solution. Most hospitals in the US do not have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine available for emergency screening. Ornim's solution complements Computed Tomography (CT) and should be used as an adjunct to CT in early diagnosis and initial patient assessment on arrival to Emergency Room (ER), for more rapid patient assessment.

3 different types of users that may not use the system’s features frequently:
• Nurse
• Doctor / Anesthetic
• General Technician

Different working environment:
• Trauma
• Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
• Operating Room (OR)

Different light conditions will require a bright text on dark background interface

Monitor placement doesn’t have to be on a rack. Vital signs monitors frequently positioned on a rack that is placed 1.5m – 2m from the patient’s head.

The Discovery

Touch screen pros & cons

Pros
• Direct manipulation (simplifies the operating of the system and gives a clear understanding of label and operation) as a result suitable for novice users.

• Easy & Cheep when changing versions – The main action buttons are changeable in no. , size, location and order.

• Is good for “selection” operations.

• Enables more operations on a primary level.

Cons
• Screen may get dirty.

• In some cases there is a “waist” of screen footprint. (Button size must be in a minimum of 10x10mm with a distance of 3mm).

• Requires work with bear hands or with sensitive gloves (The touch screen must be suitable for work with latex gloves).

• Less suitable for precise selections.

User Research

It is expected that the doctor, being a neurointensivist, anesthesiologist, and cardiologist will be the decision maker of whether to use the device and how to relate to its feedback. The attending nurse will be in charge of device operation, putting it on a patient, checking its continuous proper function, alarms and events.

In our research we relied the Ornim's Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) as proxies. SMEs have domain knowledge of the target users. They provided us a valuable information and insights in the absence of access to the actual end user. The database gathered as a result of observations, meeting with medical staff (physicians, nurses and anesthetists) and additional data achievement from other resources.

Floor plan schema

We put Trauma and Or together although it’s not obvious that both units are presented alike all over the sits. Furthermore, these three different units types (Trauma/OR/ICU) might be equipped differently under changeable constrains from place to place so the quick sketch illustrates typical layout as a base line for the UX research.

Trauma. Trauma teams will be treating patients according to case, usually requiring very fast anesthesia, surgical procedures and diagnostic procedures. Team will include emergency medicine personnel, physicians and nurses that will need immediate feedback as they progress with patient treatment.
OR. At least three persons should be taken into consideration ongoing the procedures – Anesthetist, surgeon and assistants – nurses and technicians. In most cases, the anesthesiologist will be the user, both in charge of placing probes, monitoring oxygenation during procedure and manipulating patient’s ventilation, gas composition etc to maintain satisfactory oxygenation level.
ICU. Personal nurse for each patient/room (High intensity).Transitional zone - each nurse monitors about four patients (Low/Mid intensity).

Main Analysis

User manipulation of the display to fit user needs and surrounding. ICU surrounding and display expectations/needs are profoundly different from operating room anesthesia needs. System should allow changing display parameters such as the grid, time intervals between measurements/ display refresh, brightness etc.

Information Architecture

We conducted discovery sessions with our clients. Together, we map out the current ecosystem for the product, including stakeholders, tools, technologies, and the flow of data and information.

The Process

User Interface

The main screen has been designed to allow users quick access to primary functions of the application. The size of the icons make tapping easier, the order of the icons are based on ease of reach and the layout was chosen to provide a way for the design to scale for future releases.

• The user interface should be composed of graphic display of the trend oxygenation vs time graph per sensored region and numeric/color coded display of measured oxygenation real-time.

• Events and alarms should be user defined, for controlling the thresholds for which users (doctors, nurses) want to be notified by.

• Reference baseline – starting point oxygenation – baseline of this patient, should also be displayed per region assessed. Grid manipulation and date/time entry/change.

Accessibility

Already in the early stages of our process, we needed to be sure that our work would be convenient for users with color deficiency. Ultimately, designs aren’t just meant to look good – they are meant to be easy to use for everyone, including people who are color-blind.

Deuteranopia - Green deficiencies.

Protanopia -Red-green deficiencies.

Tritanopia -Blue-yellow deficiencies.

Having gone through a series of iterations I landed on a main view for 8.5” monitor size (800 x 600). The concept design is based on the recommended standards and types of interaction for use with touch screen systems. Also we recommended a larger size for future purposes.

Everything was finally sewn together!

Given the importance of the project (literally, save lives), from the very beginning the customer was looking for simple, yet convenient and functional design.

The interface design strives to be confident. It does not contain UI‐bling or unnecessary elements. I opted for clear, readable typography —choosing colours with high contrast to increase legibility in different light conditions. The design is uncluttered, clean, large and well spaced. All my design decisions help to exude a sense of confidence in the design. By working alongside with Researcher we have coped with the main tasks assigned to us in the best way possible

Conclusion

What I Learned

Considering that this was my first project for touch devices, I am still proud to be involved in a project that can truly save human life. In fact, being the one who helped create it. I have always felt the need to make life easier for people. Knowing the users and putting yourself in their shoes is important, considering accessibility, diversity and inclusiveness.

• Always back up your design decisions with data. Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion. I would hardly imagine myself as a surgeon (to picture myself as a patient is much easier)). Therefore, in the project like this, data is a crucial factor!

• Attract the user’s eye. Be represented visually so the user understands that they are tappable elements. Be legible, so the user understands what action they will perform. Be large and clear enough so the user can easily and confidently tap them.

• The perspective is very different from a creator’s point of view versus from a user’s. It’s critical to set ourselves to the starting point and re-discover the living world; your thought will change and you’ll be more flexible at tackling issues from both a designer and a user’s perspective.