Empowering patients
with independence
and their families
with a sense of calm.
An app for Dementia patients and their families.
B2C | UX/UI | Academic project | Personal project
This project is a tribute to Jacob Levy, a cherished person who was like family.
In a brave decision, he chose euthanasia to spare his family from the pain of the advanced stages of the disease.
Jacob, i will never forget you ❤️
An app for dementia patients and their families,
mpowering the patients with independence
and families with a sense of calm.
Responsibilities: product design | UX/UI | personal project
Dementia is a collection of symptoms caused by weakening the patient's cognitive function and causes the inability to perform simple daily tasks.The disease affects around 10% of those aged 65 and older, increasing to about 30% for those aged 85 and above.
Background
What is Dementia?
The struggle to begin tasks, coupled with forgetfulness and disorientation in dementia patients, is dangerous, chips away at their independence, and can also make them feel like a weight on their families.
The problem
Forgetfulness & Disorientation
empowering the patients with independence and families with a sense of calm.
The goal
Enabling patients to carry out
daily activities with independence.
Market Research
What products already exist?
A personal alarm watch
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Fall Detection.
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GPS location tracking with Geo Safety Zones.
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Easy to use monitoring app.
An app and internal magnet
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Geofence, Speed , and Battery Alerts.
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Historical Reporting including stops, location, and idle time.
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Unique ShareSpot feature allows device location to be shared with family/friends.
A trucker and an app
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Automatic alerts when crossing out of a pre-selected fenced area.
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SOS alerts after the panic button is pressed by a falling grandma.
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Locate lost properties
Talking to the users
I became a part of an association dedicated to supporting dementia patients and their families, which allowed me to gain firsthand insight into their challenges:
Users Research
Interview insights
Interview with the wife of a 61 year-old patient
Many times the patient leaves his house and forgets to take his cell phone with him.
Forgetfulness
The moment of realization that he's lost becomes a source of stress for both the patient and his family.
Stress
The patient's awareness of being lost is not always consistent.
Unawareness
While a tracking app can pinpoint the patient's location, reuniting them with the family remains a familial responsibility.
Lack of independence
The patient grapples with feelings of embarrassment about their diminishing self-reliance and the perceived burden on their family.
Embarrassment
What really matters to patient’s and their families?
Personas
Mimi Levy
60 years old, Raanana, Israel
Mid-stage dementia
-
Wants to feel secure in finding her way back when she gets lost.
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Wants to minimize reliance on her daughter in daly tasks.
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Wants to get mental support during the day while dealing with dementia.
Goals
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Memory loss and difficulty remembering directions.
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Concern about burdening her daughter too much during the day.
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Lack of sense of independence.
Pain points
"I wish to go for a walk without fearing getting lost and causing my daughter worry."
Gaya Levy
32 years old, Tel-Aviv, Israel
Graphic designer
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Ensure her mother's safety during daily walks.
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Empower her mother to navigate on her own while she get lost.
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Find a balance between caring for her mother and her own interests.
Goals
-
Mother's tendency to forget the way and get lost during her walks.
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Can't support without making her mother feel dependent or patronized
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Struggling with balancing personal and professional commitments while caring for her mother.
Pain points
"I want to know that my mother can manage on her own, and if not - to know about it!"
Mimi Levy
60 years old
Raanana
Dementia patient
"I wish to go for a walk
without fearing getting lost
and causing my daughter worry."
Goals
-
Wants to feel secure in finding her way back when she gets lost.
-
Wants to minimize reliance on her daughter in daily tasks.
-
Wants to get mental support during the day while dealing with dementia.
Pain Points
-
Memory loss and difficulty remembering directions.
-
Concern about burdening her daughter too much during the day.
-
Lack of sense of independence.
Gaya Levy
32 years old
Tel Aviv
"I want to know that my mother can manage on her own, and if not to know about it!"
Goals
-
Ensure her mother's safety during daily walks.
-
Empower her mother to navigate on her own while she get lost.
-
Find a balance between caring for her mother and her own interests.
Pain Points
-
Mother's tendency to forget the way and get lost during her walks.
-
Can't support without making her mother feel dependent or patronized
-
Struggling with balancing personal and professional commitments while caring for her mother.
Research Conclusions
What are the unsolved needs?
The existing products cannot enhance the patient's independence- an ability that should be preserved as long as feasible.
The existing products lack emotional appeal and fail to provide a sense of calm in distressing situations when patients realize they are lost.
The existing products lack the capacity to adapt to the specific level of the disease in which a patient is situated.
Solution
An application that connects to the smartwatch of a dementia patient and the phone of a family member.
Offers detecting when the patient has moved away from home (providing guidance back home).
Recognizing stress and offering relaxation support, sending medication reminders, and facilitating contact with the family.
Additional features can be added or canceled to the smartwatch, allowing customization based on the patient's functioning, especially in the advanced stages of the disease.
Architecture
Smart-watch app
Mobile app
Wireframes
Smart-watch app
Mobile app
Home screen
Orientation
Voice assistant
Menu item
Direct call
Navigation
Emotional support flow
Navigation flow
Spalsh and welcome screens
Sign up screens
Guide overlay
Home and location screens
Manage and Adjustments screens
Design
Clean and simple, mature and goal-oriented design
Colors
Font
SF Pro Display
Icon
An app for dementia patients and their families, empowering the patients with independence and families with a sense of calm.
Navigation
With the assistance of voice and visual companions, the patient can navigate independently, guided step by step.
The user-a dementia patient, will instantly access the time, date, and their own name.
Orientation
The user can directly call their primary companion. If there's no response, the system will call the next designated contact.
Direct Calls
The user can message, listen to music, view pictures, and practice stress-relieving breathing exercises.
Customized Menu
The user will receive reminders such as taking medicine,
assignment, event and more that were defined for him in the mobile app by the family.
Reminders
The user will receive alerts for moving away from home, for a fast heart rate and for falling.
Notifications
The user reports their mood in the morning and evening. In case of a bad mood, the system provides emotional support and sends a report to the family.
Mood Check
Inputting user details- the family member and the dementia patient using a smart watch.
Sign Up
Exploring the app features, including an SOS button for emergency calls if the patient is in danger, the ability to call or message the patient, and a live map to track the patient's real-time location.
Information Screens
The caring family member can set a sector border to detect if the patient wanders beyond it, triggering a notification to indicate potential loss.
Sector Border
Important locations like the patient's home can be designated for navigation when they are lost.
Important locations
Additional features can be added or canceled to the smartwatch, allowing customization based on the patient's functioning, especially in advanced stages of the disease.
Manage
Reflection
Key Takeways & Next Steps
My Challenges
The main challenge was making the smartwatch user-friendly for dementia patients, who may have difficulty learning new things and initiating actions. Since they are often older and not familiar with technology, the product needed to be simple and easy to use.
How did I tackle the challenge?
I addressed this by researching smartwatches and their features. The solution involves communicating with the user through voice, written messages, and vibrations, ensuring the patient doesn't miss important messages.
Next Steps
I want to explore customizing the interface as the disease progresses. If tapping the smart watch becomes challenging, the interface will simplify, allowing only voice communication to avoid confusing the user with unsuitable options.