Ergonomic RFID tag placement on surgical instruments – a preliminary user study

Biomedizinische Technik/Biomedical Engineering, vol. 69, pp. 347–353

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: RFID tags on surgical instruments allow tracking of individual instruments. However, the tags on the instruments can restrict the handling, potentially increasing patient risks. Previous studies analyzed hand contact areas to identify potential locations for tags. However, the studies did not conduct interaction tests using instruments equipped with RFID tags, potentially neglecting the influence of haptic perception. In addition, previous studies required time-consuming evaluations by clinicians. METHODS: Therefore, the present study aims to verify the previous findings in interaction-centered tests with clinicians using real RFID tags on the instruments. Additionally, we had instrument design experts rate RFID tag positions and examined whether they could predict the clinician's preferred tag positions. RESULTS: We found that nearly all RFID tag positions decreased the user satisfaction of clinicians compared to a reference instrument. Compared to previous studies, our study shows that the RFID tag influences the orientations in which an instrument can be comfortably held, which was criticized by clinicians. Instrument design experts could only predict the clinician's preferred tag positions for some instruments. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, we recommend investigating further changes to instrument design, for what the "ideal" positions proposed by the clinicians in this study can provide initial pointers.

Authors 5

1. Jan Heibeyn corresponding Aachen Chair of Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Medical Engineering , 9165 RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany

2. Mark Witte Aachen Chair of Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Medical Engineering , 9165 RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany

3. Sebastian Billig Aachen Clinic for Anaesthesiology

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Clinic for Anaesthesiology , 39058 Uniklinik RWTH Aachen , Aachen , Germany

4. Armin Janß Aachen Chair of Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Medical Engineering , 9165 RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany

5. Klaus Radermacher Aachen Chair of Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Medical Engineering , 9165 RWTH Aachen University , Aachen , Germany