Human factors in radiation oncology therapy: some software control interface issues

The authors discuss software interface concerns in radiation oncology from a human factors perspective. An example of a series of disastrous consequences resulting from a poorly developed and tested interface design of a computer controlled treatment machine is described. Treatment planning computers are discussed in terms of their increasing requirement to provide complex data to the user resulting in the possibility of confusing the output or overloading the user. Finally, the priority given to software-based human interfaces in other industries is compared to that found in radiation oncology equipment manufacturers. The authors argue that radiation oncology equipment manufacturers lag behind other industries in terms of their emphasis on the human interface