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Biomedical subjects

C Stephanidis

Publications and source records attributed to C Stephanidis.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Multiple metaphor environments: designing for diversity.

This paper advances a proposition for the engineering of interactive computer-based environments capable of exhibiting alternative interactive embodiments to cope with diversity in users, interaction platforms and usage contexts. Such systems are referred to as Multiple Metaphor Environments (MME). The theoretical underpinnings of an MME rely on a conception of HCI design as mapping functions in a machine-oriented language (target domain) to symbols in a user-oriented language (source domain), and vice versa. Such a conception, which is rooted in developments in communication theory and the philosophy of language, constitutes the baseline for formulating a proposal for the design of MME. The proposal comprises a set of engineering principles, process-oriented guidelines and design techniques intended to facilitate a detailed account of how interactive systems could be designed to cope with diversity. To aid the articulation of the various properties of MME, we refer to concrete case studies that provide exemplars of novel insights and promising design practices towards the specification of MME.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed2002

User satisfaction with home telecare based on broadband communication.

Home telecare services based on broadband communication were established in five locations in Europe. Two different types of telecare unit were developed: one based on a PC or set-top box containing a videoconferencing codec and another on off-the-shelf videoconferencing units. The participants in the project were 13 medical staff, 135 patients and 88 people informally caring for the patients. Questionnaires were used to evaluate user satisfaction with eight telecare services. Almost all participants rated the usability of the system as good or excellent. A total of 105 telecare sessions were scored by the medical staff. Overall, the quality of audio and video communication was judged satisfactory. For the patients and carers, the perceived quality of communication was also satisfactory and did not vary significantly between sites. The medical staff were reasonably satisfied with how the service supported them in their work. Except for the item about being able to support patients in a critical situation, medical staff agreed that an improved quality of health services was offered through telecare. All participants agreed that personal information was treated confidentially and that there was little risk in using the telecare services. The medical staff trusted the assessments they could make remotely while using the telecare system. Although the findings cannot be generalized due to the small number of telecare sessions and the relatively short duration of the experiment, the results encourage further research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Designing for interaction quality in health telematics.

This paper focuses on emerging Human Computer Interaction (HCI) challenges in the context of Health Telematics. Specifically, assumptions in traditional approaches to product and process quality are discussed, in order to unfold the reasons behind the loose and partial insight offered to the design of technology for the broadest possible end-user population. The premises of "Universal Design" are briefly discussed and the concept of "User Interfaces for All" is presented, as an articulation of Universal Design in the area of HCI. Following this, the paper discusses how such a perspective improves upon conventional methods and tools for HCI design and presents some of its relative merits in the context of Health Telematics.

Medical Informatics↗
PubMed1997

Transferring technology toward the European assistive technology industry: mechanisms and implications.

This paper considers the need, conditions and mechanisms for successful technology transfer toward the European assistive technology industry. The discussion reveals the role of nonprofit institutions in initiating and sustaining a reasonable level of technology transfer since the industry is not likely to achieve this by itself. In particular, it is argued that, given the impediments to successful technology transfer discussed in the paper, there is a need for an organizational entity to assess the needs of the industry, evaluate alternative potential sources of technology based on their relative merits and synergies, coordinate sources and recipients, and provide a minimum infrastructure for such transfers to materialize. To this effect, general mechanisms for transferring technology from one place to another are reviewed and criteria are introduced depicting a tentative evaluation of each of the mechanisms being considered with regard to its contributions toward design for all.

Europe↗
PubMed1995

On the impediments to innovation in the European assistive technology industry.

This paper identifies and analyses some critical aspects of the European assistive technology industry which characterize innovation and determine its type, direction and diffusion. It is argued that innovation in this field is restricted because of (i) the limited and inefficient interaction between certain distinctive market elements, namely research, development, production, trade, service delivery, procurement and usage; (ii) the structural characteristics and general economic environment of the European assistive technology market; and (iii) the lack of a concise set of complementary and supportive actions towards the promotion of an environment favourable to industrial innovation and the transfer of new technology towards the European assistive technology market. The major conclusion from the investigation of the above factors is that innovation is not well served, while the limited innovative activity which is currently observed takes place mainly within institutions where the overall level of research seems to be concentrated and is of an occasional rather than permanent nature. Typically, this limited amount of innovation originates outside the assistive technology market and takes the form of 'induced' innovation.

Commerce↗
PubMed1994

The demand, supply and provision system of the rehabilitation technology market in Europe: a modelling perspective.

Modelling of the rehabilitation (assistive) technology (RT) market, as introduced in this paper, facilitates a multi-disciplinary and formal analysis of the RT domain, by identifying and interrelating the appropriate abstract entities whose value and relevance are widely appreciated. In particular, three notions are explored, namely, the demand for RT goods, the provision system and the supply of RT goods. Demand and supply are modelled in terms of the key elements which can be extracted from the environment of a demand-related or a supply-related actor respectively. The provision system, on the other hand, is analysed adopting a systems approach, being considered as a complex 'human activity system' whose functional purpose can be described in terms of a dynamic interaction between the field actors, the activities they engage in and the relevant set of factors which affect the system's behaviour.

Health Services Needs and Demand↗
PubMed1994

Rehabilitation technology product taxonomy: a conceptual tool for analysing products and extracting demand determinants.

This paper proposes and describes a conceptual tool, namely the rehabilitation (assistive) technology (RT) product taxonomy, as a framework for analysing rehabilitation technology products and extracting demand determinants. The ultimate objective of this work is to provide demand and supply-related actors with a meaningful tool for identifying and focusing on specific aspects, which may be directly or indirectly related to existing or new products, so that demand and consumption allocation decisions can be targeted, evaluated and/or predicted.

Equipment and Supplies↗
PubMed1988

An evaluation of the information interface in the design of computer-driven aids for expressive communication.

Computer-based systems as assistive aids for expressive communication have become increasingly sophisticated. One such system, which provides great flexibility in the specification of an operational configuration and which is highly user-oriented in its design, is discussed here. In particular, attention is directed towards the relationship between the physical signals which constitute the representation of graphic-symbol communication units and the transfer of conceptual information which these symbols ultimately mediate. This relationship is investigated practically with a view to establishing a connection between operational criteria at the functional level and the supporting physical infrastructure at the computational level. This investigation leads to some conclusions not only in terms of design strategy for flexible communication aids, but points to issues of broader significance in the area of computer-based assistive devices for those with special needs.

Communication Devices for People with Disabilities↗
PubMed1985

An interactive aid for expressive communication with pictographic symbols.

An individual who is unable to acquire skills in natural language communication may frequently find a pictographic symbolic language to be an appropriate alternative means of expression. This paper discusses some underlying features of the communication process and describes a computer-based augmentative aid for communication with pictographic linguistic units, which provides flexibility for user-definition of symbols, inter-symbol mapping and multi-mode expression. The system is consequently a potentially very powerful tool for the development and utilisation of communication processes among groups of users who do not necessarily share access to a common linguistic knowledge base.

Communication↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A model-based approach to the specification of computer-based communication aids.

This paper describes and discusses a strategy for the design of an expressive communication aid for the non-vocal which is highly flexible and which embodies the principle of user-specifiable function. Some of the implications which arise when an intuitively common system configuration is adopted in practice are examined. It is shown that a principal feature of the design process and subsequent assessment of the system is the way in which modelling of processes, mechanisms or functions provides a common focus for establishing the important criteria for system design and evaluation of its applicability.

Communication Devices for People with Disabilities↗