Remote Cardiac Rehab
Accessible healthcare product to enable self-monitoring and rehabilitation at home
Overview
Background
The ZOLL Mobile Cardiac Rehabilitation Program Project often referred to as the Monaco Project within the team, is at a pivotal stage in its digital transformation journey. It is transitioning from being a traditional medical device used for collecting and monitoring data to a digital service backed by the Zoll Cardiac Management Platform.
Here is a quick glance at the new product. I cannot share more details publicly as the projects are protected under NDA. If you are curious to learn more, please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or via email.
My Reflection
Product designer needs to understand the goals and constrains of the product
As the product is in the process of being fully transformed into a mobile product, the interface must take into account the specifications of the existing medical devices and provide space for full compatibility with consumer mobile devices.
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I held extensive discussions with members from different departments, such as business, human factors, marketing, clinical, and software development, to understand the product's value proposition, identify business opportunities, and tackle design challenges faced by the team. Meantime, it is important to take note of the FDA policies.
Design Challenge & Learning point 1 - Accessible Design with compliance and restriction
In the process of understanding the users' needs and pain points, I gained an appreciation for the differences between designing for medical and commercial products. One key design challenge our team faced was to create highly accessible interfaces for the elderly users, mostly in their 60s. Ensuring the safety of the patients in all scenarios was paramount; any miscommunication or ineffective navigation could lead to the failure of the rehabilitation program or even put patients' lives at risk of a heart attack.
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During the rehab walking exercise, to ensure patients' safety, we should stop the exercise immediately if the detected heart rate of the patient is above the recommended threshold. To ensure this, we can show a pop-up window with messages on the screen, as well as provide a complementary audio warning to engage the patient. This would be an effective measure to ensure the patient is aware of their rising heart rate, and is able to take the necessary steps to lower it. Additionally, if the patient is unable to lower their heart rate, it is important to make sure that the medical staff is immediately made aware of the situation, so that they can intervene and provide the necessary medical care. In this way, a combination of visual and auditory warnings can ensure the safety of the patient during the rehab walking exercise.
Design Challenge & Learning point 2 - Good service design would improve business ROI
Furthermore, I also gained a solid grasp of how products and systems can be combined to produce superior service for the end users.
While the patients use the Monaco gateway device to conduct their rehab exercises from home, the data collected by the gateway is monitored and analyzed regularly by the ZOLL clinical workstation. Any red flags are reported to physicians for future diagnostics. To ensure that all stakeholders in the system collaborate without issue, a clear communication channel must be established.
The team devoted significant effort to discussing how to connect each touchpoint in the system so that each user action is always guided and receives immediate feedback to prevent any health risks. The entire process is designed into an automated workflow to save manpower.
Design Challenge & Learning point 3: Clear onboarding and effective troubleshoot experience is the foundation of successful user engagement
Our product will be prescribed by physicians to post-AMI patients for use outside the hospital, providing them with the necessary tools to complete their rehabilitation programs.
To ensure the successful onboarding of the device and its associated software, we will provide step-by-step illustrational instructions on the gateway software. This will enable physicians to easily onboard patients, while allowing the patients to confidently use the device and its features at home, with minimal assistance from physicians.
It is critical that patients feel confident in using the device safely and following the instructions provided in order to successfully complete their rehab programs with minimal assistance from physicians. Moreover, providing patients with the necessary information and support to troubleshoot any issues, will ensure that the device is used in the most effective and safe way possible.
My Internship Experience
​During my internship at ZOLL Medical Corporation, I owned and led two iterations of MVP design for the mobile product of the ZOLL Remote Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, with a focus on accessibility.
I partnered with human factor and developer teams to develop and conduct tests for the limited market release 1.0 of the product. The product was reenvisioned, designed, and tested with cross-functional teams, and it would benefit over 600,000 patients from the affiliated hospitals in the US.
I also led a UX audit of the ZOLL Cardiac Management System, engaging over 50 internal stakeholders across seven departments. Through a series of one-on-one interviews on usability and system workflow, I was able to synthesize the feedback, identify product gaps, and provide insights for business leaders and the product design team to drive the next stage of product development and market expansion.
My Role
Stakeholder Interview; Information Architecture; UX & UI Design; Internal Presentation; Project Management
Tool
Figma, FigJam, Sketch, Microsoft 365
Timeline
6 months
(Jun - Dec 2022)
Collaborators
Human Factor Team; Developer Team;
Custom Service Team;
Sales Team; Regulatory Team