Human Factors and Training Evaluation of two Automated Exteral Defibrillators

Abstract

Two automated external defibrillators (AED), Forerunner (HeartStream) and HeartStart 1000 (Laerdal) were evaluated for general usability and training issues. The descriptive study included observation and survey of 32 first responder students, and interviews of 5 experienced first responders in a fire department. The main human factors issues for the Heart Start 1000 were: 1) short time interval between audio warning and shock delivery; 2) batteries are large, heavy, and fragile; 3) unclear situational awareness of device function, especially audio signals; and 4) confusion about hitting ‘on’ button for continuation of patient monitoring. For the Forerunner the main human factors issues were: 1) no method to delay patient assessment algorithm 2) forgetting to talk into AED voice recorder describing medical situation; 3) main status icon definition is unclear; and 4) poor audio recordings. In anticipation of AED usage by the lay public design concepts were introduced for future assessment.