Healthcare Robotics and the Human Factors Implications

This webinar will help you gain a better understanding of the importance of human factors engineering (HFE) and why it's an essential part of the robotic healthcare technology design process.

Learning objectives:

• An introduction to the various types of healthcare robotics
• A discussion of the impact healthcare robotics has on healthcare delivery
• Human factors considerations when developing healthcare robotics

About the presenters:

Merrick Kossack, M.S., Research Director

Merrick Kossack is a research director with Emergo by UL Human Factors Research & Design (HFR&D) team. In his role since 2016, Merrick assists customers with developing their processes and strategies to address their human factors engineering needs, particularly for complex and high-risk systems. In addition, he helps clients develop their use-related risk analyses, human factors reports, and other key documents required for regulatory submissions.

Kossack has developed and taught courses on human factors in medical device development and delivered numerous presentations on the subject. He is a contributing author to the book Applied Human Factors in Medical Device Design (2019). He is an active member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Human Factors Engineering subcommittee responsible for the creation of human-factors-related standards and guidance. He is also a member of the AAMI faculty staff responsible for teaching their Human Factors for Medical Devices course. In 2020, Kossack was inducted into UL’s William Henry Merrill Society as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff.

Alix Dorfman, M.S., Managing Human Factors Specialist

Alix Dorfman is a managing human factors specialist within the Human Factors Research & Design group at Emergo by UL, with nearly a decade of industry-relevant experience. She is primarily responsible for managing medical device usability evaluations involving both hardware and software, and ensuring medical manufacturers’ products meet regulatory requirements. Given her interests in human mobility, she has led various use-related evaluations of early-stage exoskeleton and surgical robot development efforts. Prior to her role with Emergo by UL, Dorfman applied principles of human factors engineering to technology primarily designed for the U.S. military. She recently co-authored a published book ”Designing for Safe Use” (2019) and has delivered various presentations on related human factors topics. Dorfman earned her Master’s degree in psychology, human factors and applied cognition from George Mason University and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Economics from Cornell University.