Advances in medical technology have enabled many diagnostics to be performed by patients themselves. One example involves the meters used by diabetics to monitor their blood glucose levels. To reduce user error, newer meters eliminate the need to wipe excess blood from the test strip. This study examined user performance with "no-wipe" and "wipe" meters. Procedural errors and reading accuracy were observed in groups differing in blood glucose testing experience. The results indicated that, each group initially made significantly fewer errors with the "no-wipe" meters; after extended use, this difference disappeared. Moreover, no significant differences were observed in the accuracy of readings obtained with the "no-wipe" and the "wipe" meters. The potential gains in effectiveness by the newer "no-wipe" technology were offset by the continued presence of another type of user error. User performance testing can identify the steps that are most critical to safe and effective use of a medical device. Improving user performance at these steps, then, can become the focus for new technology.

The principal objectives of the committee are to provid_ new perspectives on theoretical and methodological issues, to identify basic research needed to expand and strengthen the scientific basis of human factors, and to attract scientists both within and outside the field for ' interactive communication and to perform needed research. The goal of the committee is to provide a solid foundation of research as a base on which effective human factors practices can build.Human factors issues arise in every domain in which humans interact with the products of a technological society. In order to perform its role effectively, the committee draws on experts from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Members of the committee include specialists in such fields as psychology, engineering, biomechanics, physiology, medicine, cognitive sciences, machine intelligence, computer sciences, sociology, education, and human factors engineeringe'Other disciplines are represented in the working groups, workshops, and symposia.Each of these :; contributes to the basic data, theory, and methods required to :ii improve the scientific basis of human factors. Thls work relatesto Department of the Navy Grant N00014-85-G-0093 issued by the Officeof Naval Research under Contract Authorlty NR 196-167. However, the content does not necessarilyreject the positionor the policyof the Gover.iment, and no official endorsement should be inferred.The United States Government has at least a royalty-free, nonexcJuslve and irrevocable l[ce:tse throughout the world for government purposes to publlsh, tr;,nslate, reproduce, dr[iver,perform, dispose of, _ud to authoriseothers sc _ to do, allor ,_ny portmn _f this work. [1984][1985][1986][1987] iv ForewordThe Committee on Human Factors was established in October 1980 by the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council. The committee is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation. The principal objectives of the committee are to provide new perspectives on theoretical and methodological issues, to identify basic research needed to expand and strengthen the scientific basis of human factors, and to attract scientists both within and outside the field for interactive communication and to perform needed research. The goal of the committee is to provide a solid foundation of research as a base on which effective human factors practices can build.Human factors issues arise in every domain in which humans interact with the products of a technological society. In order to perform its role effectively, the committee draws on experts from a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Members of the committee include specialists in such fields as psychology, engineering, biomechanics, physiology, medicine, cognitive sciences, machine intelligence...