ABSTRACT
With the widespread development and implementation of advanced technologies in radiation therapy centers, they have evolved into an inherently heterogeneous environment: hardware and software from different vendors must be interfaced to provide safe, accurate, and optimal treatments. The operators of radiation therapy centers face the challenge of efficiently interacting with the different systems, while the vendors struggle to design user-friendly interfaces. Because each vendor has different design models and design philosophies, some are more intuitive to use, while others need substantial training to be effectively used. Complicated interfaces may easily confuse or frustrate the users, and more importantly impose increasing risks of treatment errors. The purpose of this chapter is to identify general HCI design principles that facilitate the effec-
tive interaction between the users and computer/control system, used in radiation therapy.
