Graphical user interface for a remote medical monitoring system: U.S. Army medic recommendations.

We obtained recommendations for a graphical user interface (GUI) design for a new medical monitoring system. Data were obtained from 26 combat-experienced medics. Volunteers were briefed on the medical monitoring system. They then completed a questionnaire on background medical treatment experience, provided drawings on how and what information should be displayed on the GUI screens for use on a personal digital assistant, and participated in focus group sessions with four to seven medics per group to obtain group consensus on what information the GUI screens should contain. Detailed displays on seven screens provide the medical and situational awareness information medics need for triage decisions and for early processing of a casualty. The created GUI screens are a combination of object-based and text-based information using a color-coded system. Medics believed the information displayed with these GUI designs would improve treatment of casualties on the battlefield.