Author: cxc2zm
J term in review
I have never had the opportunity to take a class that involved working with a patient before, and working with our patient made me realize that in patient centered design, while form follows function, form also contributes to function. A user might consider one form more inviting than another and be more inclined to use that form of a product through the incorporation of personalization and positive reinforcement in the design. Over this past week, unfortunately we realized the feasibility of our project was outside of the scope of this course so we instead worked on prototyping our final product and defining the functionality. Although I originally saw the unfeasibility of using swift, a coding language, as a setback, I now see that prototyping without swift is far more liberating due. Consequently, not only did we put far more thought into the patient’s specifications and needs this way but we also circumvented the inherent constraints of using a programming language and focused more on the design process itself (which for an app, as we learned, it quite intensive). Not only are there an innumerable number of laws out there that demonstrate the relationships between certain aspects of apps and its usability and appeal ranging from Fitt’s law to the psychology behind color schemes, there is also a lot to consider from the user’s pov: the color scheme, the physical layout of graphs, buttons and menus, the way the settings are laid out and the ease of use. Our design process tended to be chaotic and at times, especially given the time limits that come with j term and there were clashes here and there, but I’m happy that our patient liked our final prototype and I plan on working with my group members in the future to try to create a version that she could use. Overall, for all of the groups for the patient centered project, I found that the group with the giant timeline really stood out to me since their presentation really went into detail with regards to their design process and really immersed us with their patient’s issues and perspectives, their research, their creative process and their design process.
For J term in review in general, I really appreciated the opportunities to use multiple visual media to express our perspectives from an artistic and design standpoint. I especially enjoyed the case studies discussions in class since they exposed us to the regulation and business viewpoints that come with product design.
Patient Project
Today, after multiple iterations of our prototypes and a fifth interview with our patient, we have finally come to design our final prototype of a platform that will allow her to track her blood sugar, insulin, prescriptions, food intake and general health. Although our team had a few internal clashes due to temporal restraints, we’ve come through and pinpointed a design with foundations in the principles of reaction time, aesthetic design and functionality. We will not have enough time to carry the development of our prototype to completion, but I hope that in the future we will have an opportunity to complete our platform’s development to aid type 1 diabetics. I came into this project with the impression that products that are as ostensibly straightforward as our platform seem to require little to no time to develop, but I’ve found that I was enormously mistaken. Every aspect of a successful design requires contemplation and study and multiple iterations of continuous updates and development to maintain its functionality and modernity.
The php in review
Ultimately, my php showed that my partner’s caffeine intake was destabilizing her energy levels, decreasing her quality of sleep and wreaking havoc on her appetite. Ultimately, I think the php provided the both of us with initiative to contemplate our daily health habits and lifestyle choices and the impacts they have on our life in general. High stress circumstances have thrown our data askew these past few days, and we have both exhausted, sleep deprived and invaded by a “brain fog”. These findings make me wonder about the long term feasibility of maintaining these health goals and realistically, I do not believe that our newly established habits will last until the end of the next semester. The findings will still give us concrete evidence of the impact of our seemingly harmless habits which incentivizes us to lead healthier, more balanced lifestyles. Moreover, this entire project has been an amazing opportunity to gain empathy for a patient while maintaining a healthy relationship with them by helping them remain mindful and remember their responsibility for their own health
CAD & php
Today, I started the reverse engineering CAD project with the goal of reproducing a syringe using solidworks. Initially, I thought a syringe would be relatively easy to replicate sinceit seems geometrically very simple; however upon closer inspection, I began to appreciate the plastic syringe’s geometric intricacies which range from the ridges on its “pump” to the helical structure used to screw and unscrew disposable needle caps. After reading the Novo Nordisk case and upon further self reflection, I’ve come to appreciate how even the most ostensibly simple designs such as a disposable insulin pen and a syringe have arrays of meaningful design elements and require so much thought and planning in their production and use.
My personal health project has also taken on more dimension today since my partner and I plan on taking more data more often regarding my sleep schedule. While she records her caffeine intake, energy levels, sleep schedule and appetite throughout the day, I record my sleep schedule, my anxiety, my activities before bedtime and my prescribed meditation before bedtime. The php has really gotten me to be more self conscious & think more about my own health habits with regards to sleep.
Day 1
C.X.C. Today, I met my personal health project partner who has developed a caffeine dependency over the course of her three years at UVa’s engineering school. She noted that her caffeine intake has interfered with her eating patterns, her energy levels, restfulness, focus levels and sleep patterns suggesting that the dependency has both a physical and psychological basis. Subsequently, for our personal health project, I suggested using partially decaffeinated coffee to wean her off of caffeinated coffee and using tea as a milder replacement for pure coffee. I decided to use this method because the key to defeating any dependency is by weaning of the addictive substance and also because tea has milder levels of caffeine, leads to less pronounced teeth staining and would allow her body to regulate energy levels in general. I believe that this endeavor will help restore a sense of normalcy to her sleep & eating patterns as well. Today, I also met my patient who has a rare form of type 1 diabetes. Although my teammates and I only learned about the details and habits of her day to day life, I have already started brainstorming ideas for a potential product that ranges from a mechanical system that makes wearing an insulin pump much more manageable to upgrading the security software for an insulin pump. Although technology has come a long way in terms of the medical devices available to diabetic patients, diabetic patients still have to put up with a substantial amount of hassle compared to the general population when it comes to maintaining their blood sugar levels and maintaining the equipment they use to keep themselves alive. I definitely see an opportunity to use human centered design here to redesign or reinvent devices already used by diabetic patients to create a so called “closed loop system” that helps diabetics live as much of a hassle free life as possible.
BME Design 