In this thesis research, we investigate the usability of hand-held display (Tablet PC) and wearable head-mounted display (Google Glass) interfaces and their effect on doctor-patient interaction during clinical ward round in the hospital. We looked at existing literature to identify existing research about our topic. Using a User Centered Interaction Design process we developed a prototype hybrid system that used both a hand-held and head-mounted display. An evaluation of this prototype with a hand-held system and a paper based interface was performed in a simulated patient room with 20 doctors and 5 patients. The participants were observed, surveyed, and interviewed about their experiences. Generally, the patients had a high satisfaction rate and felt the interfaces were not causing the doctors to lose focus on them. The doctors found the hand-held display by itself and existing paper-based interface to be the most usable and least distracting interfaces for accessing patient information during clinical ward rounds.

The main aim of this thesis was to evaluate the performance of the contrast sensitivity clock (CSC), a new screening device for measuring contrast sensitivity (CS) and glare. This device allows CS without glare, with glare and disability glare scores to be recorded. After initial data collection the design of the CSC was slightly amended improving the performance of the device. The amended design of the CSC was shown to be a valid, discriminative and repeatable measure for purpose. The CSC is also a quick test to perform and is relatively cheap to produce. If all these factors are considered it shows potential to become the test of choice for the assessment of visual glare. A head-mounted display system was also evaluated in terms of the glare effects it may cause. The monocular display screen of the device significantly reduced the CS of the eye directly exposed but also had an effect on binocular performance, reducing amounts of binocular summation. Electronic devices, including head-mounted displays and satellite navigation systems can seriously affect CS at low luminance levels, similar to those found when driving at night.

Google Glass is a new personal computing device that employs an over-eyetransparent display together with voice-control in order to offer audiovisual informationto the device's users. Glass is also a new mediated-reality platform,fundamentally different from common computers and smartphones, and theavailable Glass application (Glassware) design guides do not fully cover human-computer interaction issues that are imposed by Glass' characteristics – issuessuch as optimum information density, use of colourization and positioningto separate information, optimum amount of discrete entities on display, and theuse of iconography. By combining existing guidelines for Glassware UI designwith past research on human-computer interaction and psychology, those issuescan be addressed and can lead to additional design principles. To evaluate theefficacy of such combinations within the technical and design limitations imposedby Google Glass, a set of UI mock-ups for fictional Glassware is createdand used in multiple surveys to acquire data on human response to those combinedfactors. During the study, it was determined that factors including colourization,element positioning and use of icons have a definite effect on user perceptionand preferences, whilst factors related to information density andamount of discrete entities on screen are less relevant. Additionally, supportingevidence was found in relation to the assumption that utility is more importantthan functionless aesthetics. As a result, a UI design guideline set was formulatedthat can be used to supplement existing UI design guidelines for GoogleGlass and similar over-eye transparent-screen devices.

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