COOK technology to support meal preparation following a severe traumatic brain injury: a usability mixed-methods single-case study in a real-world environment

IntroductionFollowing a traumatic brain injury (TBI), meal preparation may become challenging as it involves multiple cognitive abilities and sub-tasks. To support this population, the Cognitive Orthosis for coOKing (COOK) was developed in partnership with an alternative residential resource for people with severe TBI. However, little is known about the usability of this technology to support people with TBI living in their own homes.MethodsA usability study was conducted using a mixed-methods single-case design with a 35-year-old man with severe TBI living alone at home. The number of assistances provided, time taken and the percentage of unnecessary actions during a meal preparation task were documented nine times to explore the usability of COOK. Interviews were also conducted with the participant to document his satisfaction with COOK. Potential benefits were explored via the number of meals prepared per week.ResultsThe usability of COOK was shown to be promising as the technology helped the participant prepare complex meals, while also reducing the number of assistances needed and the percentage of unnecessary actions. However, several technical issues and contextual factors influenced the efficiency and the participant's satisfaction with COOK. Despite improving his self-confidence, COOK did not help the participant prepare more meals over time.ConclusionThis study showed that COOK was easy to use and promising, despite technical and configuration issues. Results suggest the importance of further technological developments to improve COOK's usability and fit with the needs of people with TBI living in their own homes. Cognitive Orthosis for coOKing (COOK) is a promising technology to support people with TBI when preparing meals within their homes, though usability issues need to be corrected.Factors such as current meal-preparation related habits, expectations and availability of technical support were found to influence the usability of COOK.Various questions to consider in future studies involving an assistive technology for cognition to support meal preparation were identified.