An approach to a generic therapist Graphical User Interface design of the Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy system: A case study performed in the field of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Fear of Flying
Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is being used for the treatment of several phobias, such as fear of flying. A system for VRET has two users, the Patient suffering of a phobia and the therapist who controls the session and the system simultaneously. Research mainly focuses on the patient experience and the effectiveness of the treatment. The focus of this study is on the interaction therapists have with the system. The graphical user interface (GUI) for the therapist can be very complex and introduces a heavy task load for the therapist, which means that the therapist has less energy to spend to the patient during the session. This thesis focusses on the analysis and improvement of this therapist GUI in order to decrease the task load for the therapist. To achieve this, field observations were performed in order to construct a detailed task analysis of the VRET treatment. The direct observation data of six therapists during a total of 14 sessions with patients, showed some consistency between sessions and other findings, which were used to construct three paper prototypes. These were evaluated by therapists and then subjected to a heuristic evaluation. During the final approach, a high-fidelity generic prototype design was developed, which allowed therapist to select specific and automatic flight scenarios with predefined flight phases. This final prototype was again evaluated by seven therapists in a Wizard of Oz setting, where the facilitator was simulating all functions that were not implemented in the prototype. Results showed significant usability improvements and led to five design guidelines. To evaluate the generic layout of the final design of the therapist GUI, several GUI design examples for other purposes than fear of flying were given. All of these examples were designed using the generic design layout. The trend is towards a treatment-oriented user interface instead of a simulation-oriented user interface.
Author: M.G. Sandino
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Universiteit van Amsterdam
OpenAlex ID: W1930432801