Evaluating the human-computer interaction of ‘ECGSim’: A virtual simulator to aid learning in electrocardiology

Studying electrocardiography is intellectually challenging since it involves a myriad of theories and complex associations. For example, the electrocardiogram (ECG) is a non-invasive recording of the electrical activity of the heart and its interpretation requires an intricate understanding of how these electrical signals relate to cardiac mechanics (referred to as the electromechanical link). Furthermore, it is often difficult to revert signals recorded from the body surface to the internal health of an organ. To help alleviate these challenges, the ECGSim software application was developed to allow visual learners to modify transmembrane potentials on the myocardium and view how these changes affect the ECG at the body surface. ECGSim is based on a state of the art complex `forward model' that can be used to aid understanding of how the electrical activity propagates from the myocardium to the epidermis. However, to maximize the uptake of ECGSim, this study quantifies and validates its usability using a series of metrics.