Comparison of Acceptance and Knowledge Transfer in Patient Information Before an MRI Exam Administered by Humanoid Robot Versus a Tablet Computer: A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Purpose To investigate whether a humanoid robot in a clinical radiological setting is accepted as a source of information in conversations before MRI examinations of patients. In addition, the usability and the information transfer were compared with a tablet.

Methods Patients were randomly assigned to a robot or tablet group with their consent prior to MRI. The usability of both devices was compared with the extended System Usability Scale (SUS) and the information transfer with a knowledge query. Reasons for refusal were collected by a non-responder questionnaire.

Results At the University Hospital Halle 117 patients were included for participation. There was no statistically significant difference in gender and age. Of 18 non-responders, 4 refused to participate partly because of the robot; for another 3 the reason could not be clarified. The usability according to SUS score was different with statistical significance between the groups in the mean comparison and was one step higher for the tablet on the adjective scale. There was no statistically significant difference in knowledge transfer. On average, 8.41 of 9 questions were answered correctly.

Conclusion This study is the first application, in a clinical radiological setting, of a humanoid robot interacting with patients. Tablet and robot are suitable for information transfer in the context of MRI. In comparison to studies in which the willingness to interact with a robot in the health care sector was investigated, the willingness is significantly higher in the present study. This could be explained by the fact that it was a concrete use case that was understandable to the participants and not a hypothetical scenario. Thus, potentially high acceptance for further specific areas of application of robots in radiology can be assumed. The higher level of usability perceived in the tablet group can be explained by the fact that here the interface represents a form of operation that has been established for years in all population groups. More frequent exposure to robots could also improve the response in the future.

Key Points:

• patients accept humanoid robots in clinical radiologic situations

• at present they can only convey information as well as an inexpensive tablet

• future systems can relieve the burden on personnel.

Citation Format

• Stoevesandt D, Jahn P, Watzke S et al. Comparison of Acceptance and Knowledge Transfer in Patient Information Before an MRI Exam Administered by Humanoid Robot Versus a Tablet Computer: A Randomized Controlled Study. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2021; 193: 947 – 954

Key words

robotics - health communication - magnetic resonance imaging - information services - randomized controlled trial

Publication History

Received: 27 July 2020

Accepted: 13 January 2021

Article published online:
10 June 2021

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