Digital Intraocular Pressure Monitoring Device and Application Software Interface Design

[[abstract]]This research, a sub-project of “The Pre-clinical Trial of Extended Wear Contact Lens Sensor for Intraocular Pressure Recording” project granted by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, presents a wearable intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring device and application software. The previous includes a wireless IOP reader and data storage and transmission device and the later IOP monitoring application software (APP) for smart phones. The research is conducted in three phases: 1. Literature review, 2. Qualitative and quantitative research, and 3. Design refinement. In Phase 1, different types of wearable devices, materials, and related Apps are compared and discussed. In Phase 2, eight participants were interviewed and tested with eight preliminary IOP monitoring device designs and four wearable prototypes. Also, IOP App usability test were conducted with ten participants using Graphic User Interface (GUI) paper prototypes. From the result of qualitative and SPSS t-test analysis, “wearing comfort” is the key factor of the IOP device designs, in which the “separation” type has the highest ranking. The design separates the monitoring glasses and the computing unit, thus enhances wearing comfort effectively. For the IOP App, “fluent interface” is the most important design factor, which effects operational efficiency. And the second important factor is the User Interface (UI) graphic design. In Phase 3, design refinement is carried out in both hardware and software. Currently the design is restricted by available RF transceiver/receiver circuits and electronic units. A smaller and lighter device design will be the future goal