Medical Devices Put to Test — How Safe and Intuitive are Blood Sugar Meters?

摘要

Use errors caused by insufficient usability of a medical device for patient self-control can pose serious risks to health and safety. Under this aspect, 14 blood sugar meters from different manufacturers (Roche Diagnostics, LifeScan, Bayer Healthcare, A. Menarini, Abott) were evaluated in detail according to standardized design guidelines and involving patients of type 2 diabetes aging between 45 and 77 years. An expert review and a usability test revealed among other things that the selected sample attached great importance to directly accessing important functions. Based on the findings of the survey, task-specific interaction patterns were derived to improve the usability of blood sugar meters.