Vital signs sensor for Elderly
The Project
The team envisions a future where space technology advancements by the year 2030 can be leveraged to create a remote-sensing health system using radar detection. This is a multi-disciplinary project that involves close collaboration between UX designers, interaction designers, and industrial designers.
The aim is to optimize elderly care by reducing emergency response times and uncovering abnormal vital patterns to achieve early detection.
This is a full spectrum project, from problem-finding to creating comprehensive products, with the delivery of a physical product prototype and its respective digital products.
My Role UX Researcher, UI Designer
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Team size 8
Timeline Jan - Feb 2023
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Tools
Mobile App
For Elderly & Caregivers
I was responsible for designing both mobile and desktop UI interfaces.
Web Application
For Government & Health institutions
Research
The team took a step-by-step approach in this problem-finding phase to gain insight into the situation.
Our Problem Space
The goal of the project is to apply space technology to real-world issues. The team first ran a brainstorming workshop to identify common problems in terms of current social situations, technological limitations, as well as consumer trends.
We then shortlisted a few areas where huge impact can be made by adopting new technology and investigated further.
MethodKit Workshop
I led a brainstorming workshop on the shortlisted aspects using the MethodKit tool.
The session was very successful and helped us consolidate our ideas, guiding us to identify the best use case.
Storyboard
The team decided to focus on the elderly problem as we spotted an opportunity in the current market for this scenario.
It appears that by adopting new technology, we can improve response time during medical emergencies.
User Interviews & Findings
We conducted three interviews with family caregivers who have parents living alone.
The goal was to gain qualitative insights into the habits and pain points of remotely caring for elderly parents, in order to better align our design with user goals and needs.
Ability to seek help
Caregivers worry that their parents are not able to call for help in case of emergency.
Insufficient usage
Some bought their parents wearable devices but seldom see them wearing it.
Regular checking
Caregivers’ parents have certain health issues that need regular check-up and reminders.
“How might we improve emergency response time via space technology implementation?”
Define
Our next step involves clearly defining the targeted users and mapping out their experiences.
Empathy Map
Journey Map
Ideate
As we summarize our collective insight, we began to explore design solutions and delivered sketches and wireframes. We incorporated the following principles into our initial designs:
Remote Sensing
The ability to detect health vitals from afar. It removes the physical and mental barrier of using only a wearable device. Enabling a faster response and wider coverage.
Preventive
Monitoring health vitals can apply not only to life-saving scenarios, but also building a vital pattern that uncovers abnormalities and enables early detection.
Connectivity
Established a health network that is able to swiftly notify all parties in times of medical emergency. Also for healthcare providers, such as medical appointments.
Sketches - Physical Product
Wireframes - Digital Experience
Final Prototype - Mobile
Mobile app for the elderly and their caregivers. Allowing users to check vitals in real-time, monitor health patterns, set reminders, make appointments, and activate an interactive voice assistant for help.
Final Prototype - Desktop
Monitoring software for governments and healthcare institutions.
This health network can act swiftly in times of medical emergency, dispatching medical personnel and staying in touch with the patient. It can also be used for day-to-day healthcare services, such as scheduling appointments.
Conclusion
As a full-spectrum design project with a cross-functional team, we needed to work closely together to go through the end-to-end design process. Acting as a team lead, I was able to achieve alignment across the team and successfully deliver high-quality physical and digital prototypes.
We see tremendous potential in our product and are confident that it can solve real-world issues. Moving forward, we believe that the product can be further enhanced by improving precision and data encryption, and researching its implications in a hospital environment.
