Requirements for a Novel Interaction Device for Patients in Intensive Care

Due to the obstruction of verbal communication, mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units often cannot impart their basic needs. Possible consequences are a prolonged healing process, delirium, and other complications. To overcome the communication barrier, we provide a specialized solution to support communication in intensive care. Since patients bound to the bed are not able to use traditional devices efficiently, we develop a novel interaction device tailored to the intensive care context. In this paper, we present key requirements for the device, which are relevant to the interaction itself. These requirements resulted from a human-centered design process consisting of two studies, several workshops, and a comprehensive user and context analysis. We identified three categories relevant for the interaction, namely look and feel, sensors and actuators.