Using a Wearable-Based Animated Patient Avatar to Improve Patients’ Perception of Vital Signs: Multicenter Computer-Based Study

Background Visual patient avatars are an innovative patient monitoring technology that can be used to translate numerical and waveform data into intuitive, avatar-based representations of patient conditions. Previous research indicates that this technology improves health care providers’ situational awareness compared to conventional monitoring methods. As patient-worn continuous vital sign monitoring continues to evolve, we introduce the Visual Patient Wearable device to provide avatar-based visualization tailored to this application. Objective This study aimed to evaluate whether a wearable-based animated patient avatar can improve patients’ perception and recall of simulated vital sign deviations compared to conventional monitoring methods, and to assess the usability and acceptance of this avatar-based visualization. Methods This computer-based study included 67 patients from 3 academic hospitals in Central Europe. Participants were randomly assigned to a Visual Patient Wearable group or a conventional monitoring group and viewed a standardized instructional video for their allocated method. They then completed 4 randomized clinical scenarios, each displayed for 6 seconds to simulate glance-based assessment. Accuracy in recalling vital sign deviations was measured, and Visual Patient Wearable participants additionally gave user feedback on Likert scales. Results The Visual Patient Wearable system was associated with higher detection accuracy of vital sign deviations compared with standard monitoring layouts, increasing from a median correctness of 46% (IQR 33%-63%) with conventional monitoring to a median of 67% (IQR 49%-79%) with the Visual Patient Wearable system (P