The Development and Usability Assessment of an Augmented Reality Decision Support System to Address Burn Patient Management

Critical care injuries, such as burn trauma, require specialized skillsets and knowledge. A clinical decision support system to aid clinicians in providing burn patient management can increase proficiency and provide knowledge content for specific interventions. In austere environments, decision support tools can be used to aid in decision making and task guidance when skilled personnel or resources are limited. Therefore, we developed a novel software system that utilizes augmented reality (AR) capabilities to provide enhanced step-by-step instructions based on best practices for managing burn patients. To better understand how new technologies, such as AR, can be used for burn care management, we developed a burn care application for use on a heads-up display. We developed four sub-set applications for documenting and conducting burn wound mapping, fluid resuscitation, medication calculations, and an escharotomy. After development, we conducted a usability study utilizing the System Usability Scale, pre- and post- simulation surveys, and after-action reviews to evaluate the AR-based software application in a simulation scenario. Results of the study indicate that the decision support tool has generalized usability and subjects were able to use the software as intended. Here we present the first use case of a comprehensive burn management system utilizing augmented reality capabilities to deliver care.