A Review of Visual Representations of Physiologic Data

Background Physiological data is derived from electrodes attached directly to patients. Modern patient monitors are capable of sampling data at frequencies in the range of several million bits every hour. Hence the potential for cognitive threat arising from information overload and diminished situational awareness becomes increasingly relevant. A systematic review was conducted to identify novel visual representations of physiologic data that address cognitive, analytic, and monitoring requirements in critical care environments. Objective The aims of this review were to identify knowledge pertaining to (1) support for conveying event information via tri-event parameters; (2) identification of the use of visual variables across all physiologic representations; (3) aspects of effective design principles and methodology; (4) frequency of expert consultations; (5) support for user engagement and identifying heuristics for future developments. Methods A review was completed of papers published as of August 2016. Titles were first collected and analyzed using an inclusion criteria. Abstracts resulting from the first pass were then analyzed to produce a final set of full papers. Each full paper was passed through a data extraction form eliciting data for comparative analysis. Results In total, 39 full papers met all criteria and were selected for full review. Results revealed great diversity in visual representations of physiological data. Visual representations spanned 4 groups including tabular, graph-based, object-based, and metaphoric displays. The metaphoric display was the most popular (n=19), followed by waveform displays typical to the single-sensor-single-indicator paradigm (n=18), and finally object displays (n=9) that utilized spatiotemporal elements to highlight changes in physiologic status. Results obtained from experiments and evaluations suggest specifics related to the optimal use of visual variables, such as color, shape, size, and texture have not been fully understood. Relationships between outcomes and the users’ involvement in the design process also require further investigation. A very limited subset of visual representations (n=3) support interactive functionality for basic analysis, while only one display allows the user to perform analysis including more than one patient. Conclusions Results from the review suggest positive outcomes when visual representations extend beyond the typical waveform displays; however, there remain numerous challenges. In particular, the challenge of extensibility limits their applicability to certain subsets or locations, challenge of interoperability limits its expressiveness beyond physiologic data, and finally the challenge of instantaneity limits the extent of interactive user engagement.