Wassenburg Endoscope Cleaning – Touch interface

Endoscopes are instruments used for various internal medical investigations. For the patient’s safety it is critical that these instruments are washed and disinfected properly and according to high standards. For the patient’s and specialist’s convenience it is important that clean and disinfected instruments are delivered in time.

Technological innovations such as modern touch screens allow smoother and richer interactions. In a hospital environment such innovations can be used to optimize workflows by focusing on efficiency and usability. In turn, workflow optimization helps to reduce mistakes that can lead to endoscope contamination and usability optimization helps making the daily tasks of hospital personnel more convenient and efficient.

In this project a new, modern touch screen interface is created to operate Wassenburg’s endoscope washing systems. By focusing on workflow improvement and ease of use, endoscopes can be cleaned and disinfected properly and efficiently.

Wassenburg’s washing and disinfecting systems are used in hospital and clinical environments. To understand the context and the way of working of the intended audience, on-site observations were conducted at a hospital where endoscopes are washed and disinfected regularly by dedicated personnel. Observing and talking to such experienced personnel helped to gain a deep understanding of the current way of working and potential areas for improvement.

During the design of the new touch screen interface usability tests were conducted to gather feedback and insights from product experts. During these usability tests product experts were able to perform key-tasks with the system using a prototype of the new touch screen interface. These usability tests helped to improve the workflow and usability by keeping a focus on the intended tasks and audience.

The result of this project is a completely redesigned user interface that communicates the Wassenburg brand and provides an optimized workflow for the end-user.

The new touch screen interface helps hospital personnel to wash endoscopes more efficiently. Fewer screen touches are required while loading an endoscope and starting a washing program, which helps to increase efficiency and to optimize hygienic operation.

The new touch screen interface helps monitoring the washing program from a distance. Clearly seeing the system’s status from a distance helps to anticipate for washing programs that have almost finished their washing cycle. Such monitoring helps to save time and increase workflow efficiency.

Finally, the new user interface has been designed with the new hardware platform in mind, allowing Wassenburg’s development team to implement the new interface within the limited time frame and budget available.

To achieve the design of the new touch screen interface a user-centered design approach was used, focusing on the end-users and their way of working. This means that an on-site observation was conducted in a hospital environment to get a deep understanding of the workflow and practical aspects related to cleaning and disinfecting endoscopes.

The existing workflow as observed in the hospital was discussed in detail during workshops with industry experts. Each step in the workflow was visualized and represented by a user interface print-out where possible, allowing to annotate and discuss each step in detail.

In a similar fashion the improved workflow was visualized and discussed with experts during workshop meetings. Decisions on information to show or functionality to add or remove were made by focusing on the main task of the user; loading an endoscope, starting a washing program, and unloading a cleaned endoscope. Additionally, any text in the user interface is formulated in plain language matching the vocabulary of the user and iconography is used where possible.

The result of this user-centered design approach is a user interface that is easy to use for its intended audience; medical experts, nurses and dedicated endoscope cleaning personnel.