News and Insights

Associate Sarah Fairchild PhD penned a recent  Featured Editorial  over at  Med Device Online  in which she discusses how research on the comprehension of visual narratives in comic books can inform the development of Quick Reference Guides. Click on over to learn about  How Comic Books Can Improve Quick Reference Guides .

by  Naomi Cherne  |  Aug 21, 2018  |  Announcements ,  Blog This past June, about 50 attendees gathered at the PWC building in Tel Aviv for a morning spent learning about human factors for medical devices. This workshop was coordinated by mHealth, and was focused on  Human Factors for Health Tech Ergonomics and Usability . Becky Moses, Director at Core, spoke about how to best prepare your device for  FDA   Human Factors Validation testing . Becky emphasized the importance of doing enough  formative work  to be able to predict the results of the Human Factors Validation study so companies enter that stage completely prepared and knowing what to expect.

By Patricia Anderson, MSE Imagine a participant comes into your study room. She is not sure what to expect during her session; she’s not really sure what she’s supposed to do. Maybe she’s nervous, maybe she’s bored, maybe she’s got 10,000 things to do today and has a lot on her mind. Maybe she felt things did not go so well in the session, and after many questions from the Moderator about how she interacted with the device she is starting to feel a little “tested” or judged.

Director Becky Moses will be presenting at  mHealth Israel ’s June 18th event, “ Human Factors for MedTech Ergonomics and Usability ”. The workshop’s focus is “Human Factors engineering and methodologies of user centered design, from concept through all R&D stages until final usability testing”. Becky will be discussing human factors and regulatory requirements. She recently attended another mHealth Israel workshop, “ Disruptive WOMEN in Health Tech ”, where she met women involved in bringing new technologies to the medical domain. If you are unable to make the workshop but want to learn more about  human factors ,  regulatory requirements , or Core’s  international capabilities ,  we can help !

Core Human Factors attended the  Medical Devices Technology & Regulation Conference  at  SemIsrael Technology Week  in Tel Aviv this past March. Director Rebecca Margolies Moses (right) enjoyed meeting other attendees and exploring interesting new developments in Israel’s medical device space. The conference had two tracks, regulatory and design, both of which featured a lecture on usability and human factors. Core Human Factors has an international presence, including an office in  Tel Aviv .

Core Human Factors recently went to Dave & Busters for some friendly, team-building, game-oriented competition! We split up into small teams and had fun playing trivia, logic games, scavenger hunts, and of course winning tickets in the D&B game room. Congratulations to the winning team: Tim, Amanda, Jen, Harini, and Chris Kim!

by Naomi Cherne, PhD A  recent fatal tragedy  at an Indian MRI facility in which an oxygen tank was allowed to be brought into an MRI room highlights the steep consequences of breakdowns in communication in the context of healthcare systems. The facts of the case are under investigation, but the initial statements reported in the press from the laypeople (i.e., non professionals) involved in the tragedy call to mind several usability principles: the importance of understanding mental models and user groups, the provision of safety information at point of use, and learning from past events. Mental models drive expectations.  The laypeople apparently expected that the magnet needed to be turned on in order to work. However, MRI magnets are always on; when an MRI magnet is stopped, helium is released in large quantities and fills the room, and the magnet can be irreparably damaged by the stopping process. Magnets are stopped only in an emergency such as a fire in the sc...