Dissecting Complexity
The Impact of Medical Technology on Healthcare Professionals
A.M. Schouten (TU Delft - Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology)
J.J. van den Dobbelsteen – Promotor (TU Delft - Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology)
F. W. Willem Jansen – Promotor (TU Delft - Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology)
Steven Flipse – Copromotor (TU Delft - Responsible Marketing and Consumer Behavior)
Anne C. van der Eijk – Copromotor (TU Delft - Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technology)
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Abstract
Technological advancements are accelerating at an unprecedented pace, reshaping societies, economies, and individual behavior. While these innovations offer benefits such as improved communication, and data-driven decision-making, they also present challenges, including ethical concerns, inequality, job displacement, and regulatory lag. Nowhere are these dynamics more critical than in healthcare, where emerging technologies promise to address rising demand and workforce shortages. However, the gap between technological potential and real-world implementation remains wide.
Healthcare systems, particularly in surgical care, struggle to adopt and sustain innovations like AI and robotics due to their complex, context-specific environments. A projected global shortage of 12.9 million healthcare professionals by 2035, with surgical nurses playing pivotal roles, underscores the urgency of aligning technology with clinical practice. Many MedTech solutions fail to move beyond pilot stages, hindered by a disconnect between design and real-world use.
This thesis investigates how medical technology interacts with the complex, high-stakes environment of the operating room. Across five studies, it examines both systemic and human-centered factors that influence technology adoption, with a focus on workflow dynamics, performance metrics, and professional experiences. A key finding is that successful implementation depends on integrating MedTech into clinical ecosystems, rather than introducing it as isolated technical upgrades....