Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Apr 10, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Apr 10, 2025 - Jun 5, 2025
Date Accepted: Oct 31, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
User-Centered Usability Evaluation of Cognitive Rehabilitation Software: A Cognitive Walkthrough and System Usability Scale(SUS) Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The usability of medical device software (SW) significantly influences the clinical utility and effectiveness of treatment. Importantly, user experience (UX) with cognitive rehabilitation SW can directly affect treatment adherence and outcomes.
Objective:
To evaluate the usability of tablet-based cognitive rehabilitation SW and identify areas for improvement of the user-centered UX/user interface (UI).
Methods:
A formative evaluation utilizing cognitive walkthrough and the system usability scale (SUS) was conducted with occupational therapists, the primary users of the SW. User errors that may potentially occur during system navigation and interface issues were analyzed, whereas the usability level was quantitatively evaluated based on the SUS.
Results:
We identified the following key areas for improvement: adjustment of keypad size and position, addition of information before cognitive development evaluation, enhancement of the evaluation completion method, improvement of user manual accessibility, and refinement of the hint button and difficulty level adjustment interface. The mean SUS score was 73.5 points (B- grade), indicating an overall “Acceptable” usability level. Furthermore, the need for improvement was also identified in some UX/UI elements (e.g., utility, complexity, integration, unity, and satisfaction). To address these issues, this study proposed measures for enhancing UX/UI, including improving UI intuitiveness, optimizing the evaluation process, and improving user manual accessibility.
Conclusions:
The measures proposed for identifying the usability tasks of digital rehabilitation SW and improving the UX may contribute to optimizing the UX of medical device SW and increase the prospect of clinical adoption.
Citation
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Copyright
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