Dialogue on beta testing at the Human Factors for Medical Devices workshop

Chris Vincent, Principal Consultant for Human Factors & Ergonomics at PDD, took part in the conversation on beta testing for medical devices at the Human Factors for Medical Devices workshop which took place at the Museum of London earlier this June.

The initial use of the term beta can be traced back to the 1950s when IBM started to test product ideas and theories categorised as ‘A’ and ‘B’, which later become widely-known as ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’. Commonly used by companies to find issues prior to release, beta tests provide for quality improvement and smooth usage of products. This terminology is not typically applied for medical devices but could become relevant as medical devices incorporate increasing amounts of software and graphical user interfaces.

Following his professional experience and background in both healthcare and aviation equipment optimisation, Chris led a discussion on how beta testing is connected to medical devices and the issues that safety critical systems are currently facing. The talk also covered the audience’s views on how test and evaluation strategies can be best implemented and implications relating to patient experience and wellbeing.

Human Factors plays an essential role within our business operations and we are passionate about understanding the usability, human capabilities and cognitive psychology behind all the innovations we are proposing and designing.

Learn more about Chris’ work and our experience in Human Factors and Healthcare at https://pddenglish.wpenginepowered.com