Service Design
Project 4
Project 4 - Kaeli
Industrial Design Honors Project
Project Overview
This is my thesis project for my Honors degree in Bachelors of Industrial Design at University of New South Wales. Under the guidance of tutors and lecturers, we were given 2 trimesters (roughly 5 months) to conduct research, come up with a design solution and to produce high quality prototypes.
Kaeli is an asthma monitoring kit, which aims to improve asthma management in child patients. Unlike anything currently in the market, Kaeli brings in a holistic approach through several products, and utilises smart technology to connect child patients to parents, caretakers and doctors for a more efficient solution of monitoring their condition.
About Asthma
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition which is intermittently inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, causing wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. Asthma affects people of all ages and often starts during childhood.
$1.2 Billion / yr
is how much asthma costs Australians in healthcare
$1.1 Billion / yr
is how much asthma costs Australians in productivity
60%
of deaths were unavoidable if clinical procedures were followed
Method
The reason why I decided to focus on asthma for my thesis project, is because one of my closest friends has asthma, and growing up, I’ve witnessed her struggles. I wanted to further understand the pain-points which people living with asthma face, and to potentially help them. Once I chose my topic, I utilised the Human Centred Design framework to plan my thesis. My approach:
User Research
Seven parents with children who either have asthma now or had asthma growing up, were interviewed. My heart went out to them and their families and I wish that I can help to lessen their worries. These worries included:
“That amazing moment after the medicine has been administered and you see your child’s breath moving a little bit easier — just a bit — and you start to think your child will be okay.”
“Feeling anxious at the first sign of a cold, dreading allergy season, or finding out that your child has been exposed to a trigger, and knowing that days of treatment and sleepless nights are in store.”
“Always having to bring medicine and equipment with you everywhere you go, and worrying that a school or caregiver won’t know how or when to administer the medicine properly.”
“Lying awake in the middle of the night, hand on your child’s chest, feeling them breathe, wondering if an attack is beginning.”
Main Issues and Concerns
ACTION PLAN
Only 41% of children have an action plan and only 20% of adults have an action plan.
EVERYONE needs an action plan.
MEDICATION
There is a lack of adherence to prescribed medication and barriers which prevent people from actively taking their preventer. Relievers are also often forgotten or misplaced during time in need.
MONITORING
Inefficient monitoring means people are unaware of how severe their condition and are potentially unprepared for asthma attacks.
TRIGGERS
People living with asthma could be unaware of potential triggers present.
ANXIETY
Family members could be constantly worrying about their loved ones with asthma, especially parents with young children who require more guidance
Problem Statement
“How might we design a solution which can help parents and children monitor, and better manage their asthma”
— Kaeli
Market Research
Digital health is rapidly expanding for asthma management and includes mobile applications and electronic monitoring devices for asthma inhalers. These devices accurately record the time each dose is taken and offer valuable information to help patients and physicians identify symptoms and potential triggers worsening their asthma. Many patients with asthma tolerate symptoms and lifestyle limitations because they do not utilize proven therapies or do not understand how to appropriately use their medications. Current NHLBI Guidelines suggest that patients who use Short Acting Beta Agonists (SABA) more than 2 days a week or more than 2 nights a month have uncontrolled symptoms. Accurately tracking SABA use may be beneficial to quantify asthma impairment and target patients for intervention.
Therefore for market research, quite a few asthma managing products which exists or are emerging in digital health was looked at. These included smart peak flow meters, smart inhalers and asthma tracking phone apps.
Product Teardown
A product teardown of relevant and existing products was conducted to further my understanding of each product.
Moodboard
Initial Concepts
Researching products which exist or are emerging in the digital health market inspired many ideas and initial concepts were generated. They mainly looked at improving the lives of people suffering from asthma, and lessening their pain points, and whatever which may be preventing them from living a normal life, Some of these concepts included a smart watch combined with an accuhaler, targetted at patients who lead sport intensive lives, and an asthma monitoring kit which incorporates smart inhalers.
Foam Prototypes
Models were created out of blue foam from initial sketches to physically see and feel potential product size, shape and form. They were then given to six children age 6 to 15 to test the ergonomics of the models and to provide feedback in user testing sessions.
3D Printing Prototypes
From qualitative feedback given by both participants in user-testing sessions and tutors, the form of the products were further refined. The design was then brought to life through using 3D modelling. Below, you can see pictures of the parts which were 3D printed, sanded down, filled and spray painted with several layers. Lastly, models were rendered digitally to show the final finish of the materials, product breakdown and the ideal user scenarios.
