Home health monitoring – EyKos HealthHub (product design concept)

This work focused on creating a product design concept for a home health monitoring system, known as EyKos HealthHub, which is intended to be a ‘crossover product’ in the emerging medical/consumer product space. Working collaboratively with Aseptika Ltd, the team carried out product concept design and interaction design for the EyKos system, and undertook further design and prototyping work to create an object for use in research. Aseptika is carrying out technical development of this project; the aim is for this product to form part of their ‘hospital-at-home’ platform. Through their Activ8rlives brand, Aseptika are developing integrated systems that can be used by laypeople and their healthcare service providers to better self-manage long-term health conditions through self-monitoring. The design research explored the use of: ‘Analogue’ controls that adopted natural mappings that draw on a user’s semantic memory. Controls exploit distinctive, intuitive and memorable actions that help to embed procedural knowledge. The scale and motion of the controls are inclusive, and can be adapted to specific users to personalize interaction. Colour, texture and voice control - used to help those with poor visual acuity to engage with the device effectively. Objects equipped with NFC tags that can be used to identify different users. This provides a simple way to engage with the system, including those people with cognitive impairment. Audio to provide a structured interaction, where users with cognitive impairment can be guided through processes. Audio is also used to engender a friendly, supportive and encouraging ‘character’. Aseptika won First Place in the 'Managing My Condition' category at the AXA PPP Health Tech & You Awards* in London, where EyKos was showcased as an exemplar of empowering patient self-management, with one of the judges commenting: "The winner is a fantastic example of the patient taking more control. It moves the care and monitoring back to patient level. This product was the most focused on managing a condition and keeping people out of hospital. It demonstrated real benefit to the patient. This clever technology changes the health landscape". EyKos was exhibited at the Health Tech & You exhibition at the Design Museum London, between 10 March and 26 April, 2015.