Concept, Analysis and Design of an Adaptive Rehabilitation Technology through Cognitive Effort Analysis

Gahangir Hossain
2018 JOJ Nursing & Health Care  
Individuals with disability (e.g. visual impaired) are unique in their own ways. Existing solutions are often inadequate in effectively assisting them in their need. Assistive thinking is a paradigm shift in the design and implementation of intelligent technology solutions for individuals with visual impairment or blindness, which can be applied in other disabilities. It calls for an in-depth analysis of a user's need as well as preference, estimate the cognitive ability-vs-demand gap from
more » ... s mental effort, and integrate user requirements using design and systems thinking ideas into the assistive technology (AT) systems. In addition, it advocates an effective use of existing resources in managing disability with a sustainability plan to maximize the utility of technology solutions with adaptive user interaction. This is expected to transform the design, implementation, and use of assistive systems that not only meet users' needs, but also address their situational and social needs. This paper presents the culminating experiences of designing assistive systems and a pilot study that was performed using a set of usability questions and observed cognitive capabilities of representative users, the persons who are blind or visual impaired. Assistive thinking considers a user's activity pattern based on the interface design pattern, analyzes cognitive load during technology interaction, communicate directly to technology and generate feedback to the user. It also addresses the user's unintended consequences that may cause failure and facilitates subsequent modeling to improve technology performance resulting both accessible and useable interfaces for people with disabilities.
doi:10.19080/jojnhc.2018.06.555692 fatcat:ivldzbn4n5e4xedca5q6f5q7h4