Risk Measure: Offset Indicator

In critical care settings, continuous physiological measurements rely on precise sensor placement. Even small misalignments caused, for example, by patient movement, can distort readings and compromise treatment decisions. While users are expected to validate alignment manually, this step is often overlooked under time pressure or when responsibilities are shared. The existing system offered no context-sensitive mechanism to prompt such checks. The challenge was to design a UI element that not only supports orientation but actively reminds users to verify alignment in clinically relevant situations, strengthening safety in a tightly regulated environment without disrupting routine workflows. The intervention was developed within the constraints of a mature monitoring system with limited flexibility for interface change. Strict regulatory frameworks, legacy design conventions, and diverse stakeholder expectations across engineering, clinical practice, and risk management shape this environment.

I led the UX contribution to a risk mitigation measure addressing sensor misalignment in patient monitoring, which resulted in a targeted design intervention. My role spanned strategic framing, concept development, and prototype execution. I engaged early with Risk Management, Clinical Affairs, and Engineering to align constraints and goals, and facilitated stakeholder discussions around feasibility and implementation. My background in intensive and emergency care supported a deeper clinical understanding of user needs and task contexts. Across all phases, I balanced usability considerations with system constraints, ensuring that the solution was not only functional and implementable but also effective in mitigating the identified risks.

The project evolved over six months as a risk-driven design intervention within an established critical care interface. Initial input came from a structured risk analysis, which defined both the need and the boundaries for a UI-based mitigation strategy.

While developing the prototype, I gathered early-stage technical and clinical feedback to ensure feasibility and relevance. The decision to proceed with a formative evaluation was based on a strategic review involving all relevant disciplines. Throughout the process, I took on a bridging role, translating safety requirements into design logic, aligning stakeholder expectations, and iteratively refining the concept. The project concluded with a documented handover to development, including key specifications and rationale for implementation.

The design intervention introduced a contextual reminder element into the monitoring interface. It surfaces in situations where misalignment is likely, such as after patient repositioning or therapy adjustments, and prompts users to verify sensor placement. The reminder appears within an existing display tile and provides clear actions: one to confirm the correct placement and another to revisit the adjustment settings. Trigger logic was designed to be context-sensitive, avoiding redundancy and alert fatigue. Rather than introducing a new interaction paradigm, the solution was conceived as a minimal and precisely targeted UI addition. The element’s position, visual weight, and interaction pattern were deliberately chosen to integrate with the system’s existing information architecture without mimicking high-priority alerts.

The refined reminder concept was formatively validated and handed over to development with supporting rationale and specifications. The usability evaluation confirmed both the relevance and clarity of the feature, yielding a score that falls within the range typically interpreted as reflecting good usability. Clinical participants rated the reminder as helpful in supporting safe sensor alignment without introducing new workflow burdens.

Design adjustments, trigger logic, visual structure, and navigation were directly informed by usability insights and stakeholder feedback. As a result, the intervention contributed to reducing the likelihood of misalignment-related user errors and improved the perceived trustworthiness of the monitoring interface. The project demonstrated how focused, context-aware UX design can strengthen safety in high-stakes environments without overwhelming existing systems.

This project deepened my understanding of how safety requirements, usability constraints, and clinical practice intersect in regulated environments. Designing for a mature system meant working within tight boundaries, both visually, functionally, and procedurally. The real challenge wasn’t inventing something new, but inserting a minimal yet meaningful change into a system where every pixel carries weight.

My clinical training and several years of frontline experience in acute and intensive care enriched my perspective throughout the process. It enabled me to interpret usage contexts not only from a design standpoint but through the lens of operational reality, bringing critical edge cases into focus more naturally. I also experienced a highly constructive interdisciplinary exchange, where stakeholders were open to strategic perspectives and iterative thinking. What I take from this project is a sharpened awareness of how alarm fatigue shapes interface expectations in critical care—and how thoughtful, restrained design can meaningfully improve safety without adding to the noise.