Move data, not people.
As global events shake our foundations and make systematic weaknesses visible, we have to be more efficient with our valuable resources [time,labor,wellbeing] and employ them where they matter the most. A supportive and complementary scenario to this is the rise of mobile diagnostics in healthcare.
Haemo is a system of modules and interfaces that aims to aid mobile nurses in conducting mobile bloodwork with ease by eliminating interruptions and nuisances of working with instable and unique biological samples.
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Slides from the pitch deck I've created for the Global Grad Show Entrepreneurship Programme
—an off-shoot from Dubai Design Week's exhibition, featuring selected projects.
Autonomous futures
Being on the move with delicate samples has its own unique challenges. Haemo’s system approach aims to help healthcare practicioners by enabling customized storage conditions for different samples, extending specimen stability and facilitating data sharing between the lab and the practitioner.
In laboratory medicine, traceability of the pre-analytical phase is essential. Two critical aspects are the storage temperature and the time from sample collection until its processing.
Above, you can see the optimum storage temperatures for some blood tests. As every biochemical has unique properties, enabling custom handling of samples offers great potential in preventing errors.
Weekly reflection
A weekly recap in the form of an audio-visual experience is compiled through all the saved recordings. By turning moments into a more fluid medium through sound, things become less easily quantified and more open for humane interpretation and reflection.
The composition can be synchronized with diverse data sources at the user's discretion.
Journey
Phlebotomy for analysis is often performed at remote locations, and samples are usually temporarily stored before transport. The circumstances during storage and shipment may not meet the necessary requirements. If analysed anyway, false results may be generated.
Process
The project required extensive research. During the process, I tried to make good use of remote techniques and opportunities, as my thesis year coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its measures. Another important issue was the sensitive nature of healthcare services and navigating personal stories while respecting the privacy of patients.
Sustaining the system
The location data crossmatched with the nurse’s schedule tells us which patient is being visited - which gives us the list of tests are being required from their doctor. Now that we know what type of test(s) are needed to be dealt with -let's say maybe it's a blood potassium test- the system can now alert the practitioner about this specific biochemical, as it's known to be particularly sensitive to environmental factors. If the patient has records associated with an increased risk of hemolysis, letting the nurse know beforehand can allow them to cautiously handle the situation for better results.
In the car, the same system can recommend the optimum temperature and log its storage time. As modules arrive in the lab, their contents as well as in which condition they’ve travelled can easily be traced via the system for further risk analysis. The sample modules can act as a loading tray for high volume centrifuges.
As part of my thesis work, I wrote a research paper that includes interviews with healthcare professionals and a case study on how the sector can evolve in the following years. It can be read here.
Journey map from case study, co-created by mobile nurse Canan K. over Zoom.
Project credits
2020 | Duration: 7 months
Individual work [Bachelors thesis]