Poise
A Neckband for Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy
The Project: To design a personal medical device to help an individual monitor, manage, and improve their health.
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Poise is a neckband that utilizes haptic feedback to aid in vestibular rehabilitation therapy exercises for those struggling with Meniere's Disease or other balance disorders. Its connected interface provides complex visual stimuli during these exercises and also helps to monitor potential other factors in a user's condition.
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10 weeks
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With mentorship from Tactile
Problem Space
Meniere's Disease is an inner ear disorder with no known causes or cure. For Meniere's Disease and other balance disorders, symptoms can vary. A lack of knowledge over affecting factors makes it difficult to treat.
User Group
"Vertigo attacks are really unpredictable, so they start to affect how I work...I still haven't really figured out how to manage them."
Those struggling with Meniere's Disease can experience frequent, debilitating symptoms. Options for management exist through vestibular rehabilitation therapy and diet management, with varying degrees of effectiveness.
Research Insights
Therapeutic clinical conditions difficult to replicate at home.
Existing management options vary in effectiveness for individuals.
The stage of post-diagnosis condition management is the greatest time of anxiety and emotional unrest.
How might we provide individualized symptom management for Meniere's Disease and other balance disorders in the home environment?
Design Principles
Initial Ideation
Initial concepts explored a variety of conditions dealing with hearing loss and disorders of the ear. The focus on Meniere's Disease led to refined ideation dealing with aiding in balance therapy exercises.
Prototyping
3D prints and quick prototypes were made to better understand forms that fit well with the body, especially while performing balance exercises. The neckband concept proved to be most effective in its use of haptic feedback and was further refined.
Refinement
Forms were explored to test other ways a product could live around a user's neck and shoulders while testing balance. Material choices were important in considering changes in neck size from individual to individual and what would prove to be most comfortable.
Poise
Poise is a neckband that utilizes haptic feedback to aid in vestibular rehabilitation therapy exercises for those struggling with Meniere's Disease or other balance disorders. Its connected interface provides complex visual stimuli during these exercises and also helps to monitor potential other factors in a user's condition.
Poise Interface
Poise's connected interface allows patients to have a holistic view of their condition, tracking progress, symptoms, and triggers.
Patients can view the exercises screen during their routine as it guides them through each exercise with included complex visual environments. They can easily contact doctors, who are able to prescribe plans and routines according to the user's progress and condition.
