OVERVIEW
SeizureGuard
Role - Product Designer
DISCIPLINE - UI/UX Design, Visual Design and Branding
Tool - Figma
Timeline - 5 months • Oct 2024
Background
This app was designed for the 2024 Student mHealth App Competition, organized by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society alongside the 2023 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care. Competing against 98 teams from around the world, we were honored to win first place.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Objective
The goal was to create a mobile experience for epilepsy patients and caregivers to support seizure tracking, emergency response, and overall well-being management. This disease negatively impacts patients’ daily lives, often making it difficult to maintain independence. Many patients have sustained serious injuries during seizure episodes, highlighting the need for a tool that can help them track their condition and alert caregivers in emergencies. Given the research and data, the overarching question was:
There are …
3.4 million
of Americans have active epilepsy
82.5%
of patients have sustained injury due to an epileptic seizure
95%
of patients require a caregiver to manage their epilepsy situation
PATIENT
How might we assist seizure patients in managing their onset situations and seeking immediate help?
CAREGIVER
How might we assist caregivers to monitor and manage their patients’ health condition and provide immediate help to them?
GENERATIVE QUAL RESEARCH
What is the task flow when a seizure happens?
Research guide + interview questions
Research goals
Identify the task flow when a seizure happens
Extract user pain-points
Identify opportunities to complete other tasks
Methods & Recruiting
50 surveys with 32 patients and 18 caregivers
12 user interviews with 6 patients and 6 caregivers
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Interviews reveal the workflow of an epilepsy onset is …
Ensuring a clear airway
Turning patient on their side
Furthermore, there are additional actions that can be taken, such as recording and timing the seizure…
Remove sharp objects nearby
OUR USERS
Epilepsy patients risk injury, isolation, and delayed care. During an epilepsy episode, two scenarios occur: the presence and absence of a caregiver. When caregivers are present, they often struggle to manage medical schedules and emergencies.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
The second scenario is the absence of a caregiver. When patients are alone during a seizure, they may experience heightened anxiety, which can result in…
SOLUTION
Through insights, we understand that it is very dangerous for patients when a caregiver is not present during an epilepsy onset. Therefore, we need to prepare for this situation with a support mechanism
CHALLENGE 01 SOLUTION
Epilepsy patients risk injury during seizures, especially when alone. A phone alert that draws public attention, provides guidance, and calls 911 if needed can deliver faster help, reducing injuries while boosting safety, independence, and satisfaction.
RESEARCH IMPACT
Design Goals
Accessibility
Facilitates seeking help for patients with limited mobility or in a faint condition
Safety
Minimize the risk of injury
Speed
Instantly receive assistance with provided instructions
Product card
How did I decide the information layout?
MORE RESEARCH
Figure out info hierarchy
Different users care about different information. How to treat each piece of info with a different priority?
CHALLENGE
Card-sorting activity
Card sorting
Research results
RESEARCH RESULTS
Info hierarchy
Our research revealed that health data, appointment scheduling, and medical reminders are essential for seizure patients and caregivers. These features enhance independence and care coordination, guiding our design to meet users' most pressing needs.
CHALLENGE 2 DESIGN DECISIONS
HMW design a home page that includes the critical information?
01
Users manually fill out the information
Cons:
Health graphs have low practicality; not many people understand or look at them.
02
Information on different pages
Cons:
Too many actions are required on one page
03
Integrated information with multi-selecting
Consistency and reduce error
Pros:
Instantly view all health data at once
Information is divided into sections
User Behavior
It indicates that epilepsy patients proactively adjust their activities, monitor symptoms, and identify triggers to mitigate risks, while caregivers often face high stress and must provide immediate assistance during seizures.
OUR USERS
DESIGN DECISIONS
HMW alert patients about a upcoming or current seizure?
Two design solutions
DESIGN 01
DESIGN 02
EVALUATIVE RESEARCH
Usability Tests
Research goals
Evaluate the accessibility of the alert notification
Assigned tasks
Thoughts about the alert
Recruiting
5 users
My role
Write up research plan
Create Figma prototypes
Lead sessions & take notes
Research
Fully interactive Figma prototypes
OBSERVATION 1
Negative or alarming measurements could potentially heighten anxiety
Patients may feel nervous and tense when encountering unfavorable health data during a seizure, especially in a situation that is already stressful
The visual emphasis on the health data has been observed to cause stress to patients
DESIGN 01
DESIGN 02
OBSERVATION 2
Practicality and keeping info concise
Patients do not need to know detailed information about their seizure as it occurs; this information would be more helpful for caregivers to understand the patients’ current condition.
CHALLENGE 3 SOLUTION
Leave the seizure information to the caregivers
We decided not to emphasize abnormal health data on the patient's interface. Our goal is to relieve the patient's pressure by only requiring them to confirm whether it's a false alarm. If it is, the alarm will cancel immediately. If not, the app will contact the caregiver immediately. Depending on the caregiver's distance from the patient, the phone will play an alert sound to ask for help from bystanders and provide guidance once they confirm their assistance. If no one responds within 5 minutes, the app will automatically call 911 for the user.
Patient Interface
Wearable device
Phone alert
Caregiver Interface
In-app noti
Outside app noti
How might we enable caregivers and bystanders to obtain information about how to help a patient during an epileptic episode in the fastest and most efficient way?
User-Based Evaluation of Voice and Tap Interaction for Seizure Assistance
We conducted an evaluation with 5 caregivers to compare the time, satisfaction, and completion rate of the rescue process using Voice Interaction versus Tap Interaction. In a simulated epilepsy scenario, caregivers tried both methods. Results showed that Ideation 2 had higher satisfaction, higher completion rates, and took less time than Ideation 3. Caregivers need to fully monitor patients, leaving little time to focus on the phone screen, making tapping less ideal. Additionally, they are unlikely to revisit previous steps since the saving procedure is ascending.
CHALLENGE 4 SOLUTION
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
User Needs
User needs an organized tool to record the entire seizure experience, making it convenient to share with doctors for a comprehensive understanding of their condition and for planning subsequent treatment
Users needs to track the frequency, duration, and intensity of their seizures over time. This information helps them and their healthcare providers gain insights into patterns and potential triggers
User needs a time-efficient way to track epilepsy-related events, such as seizures and medications
Users need to identify triggers to avoid triggers or make informed lifestyle changes to minimize exposure to triggers
RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a competitive analysis of the current four most popular apps that focus on assisting epilepsy patients, analyzing their features and how they aim to support patients from different perspectives
Combining the interview insights, I discovered that ...
Tracking seizure is critical to seizure patients as it provides valuable insights
Recording videos is helpful for identifying specific manifestations and behaviors exhibited during the preictal, ictal, and postictal phases
Explaining the condition of seizures to a doctor can indeed be challenging due to its inherent variability and the multitude of factors influencing its presentation
Three Design Solutions
01
Users manually fill out the information
Pros:
Users have complete control over what information is entered and how it is presented
Cons:
Manually entering all information can be tedious
The process may lead to user frustration or fatigue
02
Information on different pages
Pros:
Users can concentrate on one piece of information at a time without being overwhelmed by too much data
Cons:
Users may find it cumbersome to click through multiple pages, especially if they need to review all information
03
Integrated information with multi-selecting
Time efficiency
Consistency and reduce error
Pros:
Users can quickly select multiple options without needing to navigate through multiple pages or menus, saving time and reducing effort
Allows users to handle multiple tasks or make several selections in one go, which streamlines the process and enhances the user experience
The right component for each selection
SELECTION
When
Selected Trigger
Selected Consciousness
Selected Trigger
Search
Type
COMPONENT
Date and time picker
Multi-selected buttons
Button
Multi-selected form
Search Bar
Textfield
DESIGN
User flow of how to determine triggers
CHALLENGE 5 SOLUTION
Final Solution
App Interface
Voice UI
Learnings
Avoiding Assumptions in Design
A key lesson from the design process was not making assumptions, even about small details. For example, we assumed tapping would be convenient based on general habits, but usability testing revealed that it might not work well for users who are busy caring for patients and don’t have hands free. This reinforced the importance of validating assumptions through testing and user feedback.The Power of Collaboration
Cross-functional teamwork was essential in solving complex healthcare challenges. Collaborating with designers and healthcare professionals, I saw how diverse perspectives drive user-centered solutions. Effective communication, adaptability, and a shared commitment to patient outcomes helped refine our app to truly meet the needs of seizure patients and caregivers. This experience reinforced the value of leveraging team strengths, listening to different viewpoints, and maintaining a user-focused approach.