After developing the XperGuide eLearning tool for Philips Healthcare, DDA Medical was asked by Philips' Program Managers to create iPhone and iPad applications. Realizing that an increasing number of Philips sales and educational representatives were making use of mobile devices while in the field - sometimes in remote locations with limited or no Internet access - Philips saw a direct need for mobile apps. The challenge for DDA Medical was to create a mobile app based on the XperGuide eLearning tool, maintain the functionality of the procedure-based virtual medical simulations thereof, and make the app interactive and engaging enough to be embraced by Philips' representatives and customers.
he XperGuide eLearning tool was developed by DDA Medical through a combination of video, animation, programming, audio narration, still photography, and 3D models. DDA Medical created a futuristic lab environment where users are first guided through a procedure step-by-step (passive simulation) before they are provided with the tools to perform the procedure on their own (active simulation.) These simulations work together to provide physicians with a hands-on introduction to all medical equipment involved in a Philips interventional suite and allow them to learn and train in a life-like environment in the comfort of their office or home. The objectives for the mobile app were to translate this lab environment, hands-on instruction, and interactivity to smaller smartphone and tablet screen sizes and touch navigation.
DDA Medical created a modified version of the lab environment, incorporating all of the necessary user controls, but in a way that was intuitive for the mobile user. The simulations were enhanced to take advantage of the touch navigation and make the most out of tactile involvement. For example, instead of clicking a mouse cursor, DDA Medical made it so that users could touch equipment buttons directly on their mobile device. Some features that were part of the XperGuide eLearning tool needed to be removed for the mobile app, such as user registration and a personalized certificate with a date stamp as proof of participation. However, DDA Medical enhanced the mobile app with Social Login, AddThis, and Google Analytics features, just to name a few.
The iPhone® and iPad® XperGuide mobile apps DDA Medical developed for Philips Healthcare were quickly approved by Apple® after submission and are now available for download in iTunes. For these mobile apps in particular, taking the computer mouse out of the equation and replacing it with touch navigation added a sense of realism to the virtual medical simulations, thus improving the user experience in significant ways. Now, Philips Healthcare employees, physicians, and medical technicians can learn about XperCT and XperGuide systems on the go and in a risk-free virtual setting.