Human factors engineering applied to risk management in the use of medical equipment

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology based in human factors engineering concepts and methods to be applied in user-equipment interaction. The method aims at identifying hazards related to the use of medical equipment and to control associated risks in order to ensure patient safety. This is accomplished by making use of three tools: Task Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation and Usability Test. This paper also presents a case study on infusion pumps in which the developed methodology was applied. From the study major problems were identified and solutions were presented, some of which were implemented. Result showed that the proposed methodology can be applied to identify, measure and control risks concerning human-machine interaction. © 2010 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.