Magic Arms is a light-weight prosthetic arm device created specifically for children with neuromuscular disorders. Due to its unique 3D injection-mold design and goal to reach to as many children as possible, Magic Arms has redefined patient-medical device relationship with the help of a new responsive web application called Fitkit.
Background
The Fitkit, the responsive web application for direct access to the exoskeleton arm, helps Magic Arms stand out among its competitors. Among the competitors of active and passive assistive devices in the existing market, it is in only Magic Arms that aims a patient-centered exoskeleton production. Creating a platform for direct access to the production process via self-measurement and medical practitioners to patients (MP-2-P) assessment pipeline, Fitkit aims to contribute to Magic Arms mission.
My role
I was the sole user experience design researcher collaborating with the full-stack developer, along with the stragety team. Research phase of the project involved examining children's interactions with the exoskeleton and interviewing physicans and medical professionals assisting the children with neuromuscular disorders.
Team
Brett Himmler, Amy Ko, Brycen Kryzer, Shawna Persaud, Emily Wozniak
Approach
How can Magic Arms reach out to parents to collect information about their physical needs and body measurements so that the exoskleton production process works faster and is more affordable with minimum intermediaries? Insights gained by ethnographic research has helped Magic Arms rethink its users’ needs beyond medical necessity. And the Fitkit is the outcome of these insights.
Challange
How would children learn about the world if they could not use their arms and hands? Neuromuscular disorders (such as Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenital, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, etc.) affect the lives of children all around world. By impairing children’s arms and hands, these disorders limit their interactions with surroundings and peers, hence learning and playing. Existing exoskeletons primarily target adults and due to their heavy weights and high costs they do not reach to children and families in need. By providing an affordable, 3D printer-made, lightweight exoskeleton arm support, Magic Arms has already impacted the lives of 100 children. However, Magic Arms is now at the onset of a new challenge:
A responsive web application that will convert the lenghty and clinic-centered application for Magic Arms to a direct dialogue between doctors and patients' parents.
Research and Discovery
Ethnographic Research
We conducted in-depth ethnographic research in two different contexts: medical and domestic. In the medical context the purpose of our ethnographic visits and inteviews aimed to understand medical professionals' conception of assitive devices and their assesment of patients who need the apparatus. Being part of the domestic environment meant to observe and comprehend children's use and perception of the Magic Arms. We spent 10+ plus hours during the initial research phase and discovered a major finding:
Children don't imagine Magic Arms as a monotonous object. They have built a realtionship with it that is beyond "using a medical device." For children Magic Arms seem to be similar to a support animal like companian.
Insight
After the discovery that children using Magic Arms didn't see it as a simple medical device, we collaborated to to curate a user experience for Fitkit, Magic Arms' application and physical assessment platform for both parents and medical professionals.
An ethnographic approach attuned to the human-assistive device interaction could provide a nuanced understanding of the human-computer/mobile device interaction that is akin to companionship children see in their relationships with the Magic Arms.
Design Development
Fitkit Ideation
In order to augment the Fitkit’s contribution to Magic Arms’s mission, we started with the ideation by comparing responsive web applications that enable their users to provide measurements in a linear workflow. Following this linear workflow pattern, the team focused on typography and text/image alignment both of which aim to prevent user confusion during interacting with the responsive web app.
self-measurement linear flow by competitivecyclist.com
Fitkit Prototype
We prioritized two key feature for the Fitkit: patient self-measurement and Medical professional-to-patient (MP-2-P) assessment pipeline.
These features consists of “4-step” patient registration and assessment flow which is a direct communication pipeline supported with image/video instructions and measurements that are provided and monitored by both patients and medical professionals. Below are the Smartphone-scaled 4-step Fitkit Patient registration and patient assessment, and medical professional assessment assignment and control screens
Usability Tests
After the launch of the responsive web app, the we conducted moderated usability tests with 3 medical personnel and 2 patients to test Image/Video upload.
Takeaways
- The Fitkit's Intermediary-free measurement and assessment responsive web application helps Magic Arms stand out in the current exoskeleton market.
- With each video upload each day the Fitkit builds a hands-on database of neuromuscular conditions and their variations. This database could help the engineering team to augment the precision of the each exoskeleton they produce.