Digital Health Sandbox - Master's Thesis

Designing a Sandbox for Smarter Health Solutions

This master's thesis project focused on creating a Digital Health Sandbox (DHS), a simulated environment designed to allow healthcare developers to test and explore triage-related algorithms using synthetic data. The project explored how user-centered and visualization-focused design affect the usability of a digital interface aimed at improving healthcare planning and evaluation.

Research Question

Can the process User-Centered Visualization Design be used to achieve usability when creating an interface for visualizing information from heterogeneous data sources?

Target Group

The project's target group consists of business analysts within healthcare looking for possible improvements or new implementations. Specifically, they are interested in simulating healthcare scenarios and digital health technology utilization. These business analysts work at various healthcare-related organizations such as hospitals within the Västra Götaland region.

Methodology

Through an iterative design process grounded in User-Centered Visualization Design (UCVD), a high-fidelity prototype was developed and evaluated with input from end users. The prototype enables simulation visualizations of healthcare scenarios, with a focus on traffic accidents and emergency healthcare triage.

Key Features

• Simulation environment for healthcare scenarios
• Traffic accident triage visualization
• Synthetic data generation and testing
• Algorithm validation capabilities
• User-centered interface design
• Healthcare planning and evaluation tools

Research Goals

• Applying the User-Centered Design Visualization methodology to visualize heterogeneous data sources
• Involving target groups during development to create a usability-focused interface in line with users' needs
• Exploring how design methodologies can help bridge the gap between technical solutions and user needs

Results

The results suggest that user involvement and visualization techniques can improve the usability and clarity of digital tools intended for healthcare development. While the DHS remains a prototype, it offers insights into how design methodologies can help bridge the gap between technical solutions and user needs, contributing to the ongoing development of more effective and user-adapted digital health tools.