Concept to Care: Human Factors & AI in Medical Devices

Key points covered during this webinar: 

• AI in Human factors: By automating certain aspects of the design process, AI enables human factors engineers to focus on higher-level analysis and decision-making, improving overall efficiency. Human factors engineers play a critical role in identifying and mitigating ethical issues in AI applications, ensuring that technologies are developed responsibly and ethically. 
• Integrating AI in HFE: AI can predict user errors based on historical data, can detect patterns in confusion or complaints. By integrating AI into the medical device design process, usability engineers can create safer, more efficient, and user-friendly devices. AI not only reduces development time but also ensures that devices are tailored to the needs of diverse user groups, ultimately improving healthcare outcomes. 
• AI as a Powerful Tool, But Not a Standalone Solution: AI is a powerful enabler in HFE, accelerating usability research and improving safety, but human expertise remains essential for interpretation, decision-making, and ensuring ethical, user centered designs. The future lies in AI-assisted usability engineering, where AI and human factors specialists work together to create safer, more effective medical devices. AI significantly improves efficiency, standardization, and regulatory alignment in medical device documentation. AI tools are assisting in drafting and structuring documents, while human experts refine, validate, and finalize them. 

Key Takeaways: 

AI is transforming Human Factors Engineering in medical devices by enhancing usability, safety, and efficiency. It facilitates automated user research, cognitive load assessment, and error prediction using machine learning and physiological monitoring. AI driven simulations enhance training and user education. Despite challenges such as data security and regulatory compliance, AI continues to drive innovation in creating adaptive, user-friendly medical devices.