User Experience and Acceptability of a Mixed Reality System for Rehabilitation : From an Occupational- and Physical Therapy Perspective

Abstract: The use of Mixed Reality (MR), a technology that attempts to integrate the physical and virtual worlds, is steadily becoming more prevalent in healthcare. To properly integrate new technologies into an organization or workplace, for example in healthcare, a system must first be accepted and used by the individuals for whom it was designed. Acceptability of a new technology is predicated by the individual's perceptions of the User Experience (UX). Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore occupational and physical therapists’ UX and acceptability of a MR rehabilitation system. With the help of a grounded theory methodology, analyzing qualitative data from three different data sources (user tests, interviews, and a heuristic evaluation) we have been able to produce a semantic theoretical model concerning UX and acceptance in regard to a Mixed Reality rehabilitation system. Eight rehabilitation professionals were included in the sample. This research identifies a theoretical model which processes and contains meaningful dimensions on what affects the UX and acceptance and successfully integrates interaction, technical and medical standpoints with a focus on both patient and therapist. The model reveals four themes that affected the UX and acceptability of a MR system used for rehabilitation: “Intention to use”, “Perceived usefulness of MR”, “Information architecture”, and “Interacting in MR”. The aspects identified can be useful for both researchers and industry looking to gain a deeper and broader understanding of the phenomenon studied, and may inform important aspects of development of current and future technology.