Checklist usage can increase performance in complex, highrisk domains. While paper checklists are valuable, they are static, slow to access, and show both too much and too little information. We introduce Dynamic Procedure Aids to address four key problems in checklist usage: ready access to aids, rapid assimilation of content, professional acceptance, and limited attention. To understand their efficacy for crisis response, we created the dpAid software system. Its design arose through a multi-year participation in medical crisis response training featuring realistic team simulations. A study comparing Dynamic Procedure Aids, paper, and no aid, found that participants with Dynamic Procedure Aids performed significantly better than with paper or no aid. This study introduces the narrative simulation paradigm for comparatively assessing expert procedural performance through a score-and-correct approach.

Emergency medical teams collaborate to solve problems and take care of patients under time pressure and high cognitive load, in noisy and complex environments. This paper presents preliminary work in the design and evaluation of head-mounted and multisurface displays in supporting teams with interactive checklists and more generally dynamic cognitive aids.

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Cognitive aids such as checklists have been shown to benefit medical teams working in routine and crisis environments. This video presents a team of physicians reacting to a simulated operating room emergency, demonstrating potential benefits of interactive cognitive aids in medicine.