DESIGN NAME: Alzcare
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Mobile Application
INSPIRATION: Alzheimer’s disease affects over 55 million people worldwide. And the disease does not just affect one person. It touches everyone who loves them. Over 100 million families face the challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Many feel isolated and overwhelmed with the emotional toll and endless responsibilities. We believe technologies can help and our mission is to design a solution that alleviates the daily burdens of caregiving, empowering families in Alzheimer's caregiving.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Alzcare is a mobile companion app designed for caregivers and families of people with Alzheimer's disease. By integrating AI-powered guidance, real-time alerts, and a strong caregiver community, Alzcare provides the support system that caregivers need, enhancing both patient care and caregiver well-being.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: Alzcare provides the support system that caregivers need by integrating AI-powered guidance, real-time alerts, and a strong caregiver community. Our key features and user-centered design innovations include:
1) Home + Care Tab: A centralized hub allowing caregivers to log medications and set reminders for timely administration; track symptoms and behavioral changes over time; visualize trends and generate reports to support medical decisions.
2) Alerts: Real-time GPS-based notifications when a patient exits a predefined safe area; emergency response guidance to assist caregivers in locating a wandering patient; collaboration tools that allow multiple caregivers to coordinate in urgent situations.
3) Ask AI: The Ask AI feature provides caregivers with reliable, on-demand information by offering expert-verified responses to common caregiving challenges; providing step-by-step guidance on symptom management and crises; and learning from past interactions to deliver personalized recommendations.
4) Community: The Community tab fosters connection and shared support through peer discussion groups where caregivers can exchange experiences and advice; curated educational resources on Alzheimer’s care; curated therapy sessions and emotional support programs.
5) Family Coordination: The Family tab simplifies collaboration by enabling shared task lists and scheduling tools for caregiving responsibilities; providing a private space for family members to discuss care strategies and emotional well-being; and sending updates to all caregivers to ensure seamless coordination.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project started in December 2024 in California, United States, and finished the 1st phase in March 2025.
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: The design software used was Figma, Origami Studio, Adobe After Effects, and other design and prototype developing tools.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: The mobile application was designed with the iOS operating system and potentially expanded to Android in the future.
TAGS: User Experience Design, Mobile Application Design, Healthcare Application, Alzheimer's Disease, AI Design, AI Chat
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: To create a solution that truly meets the needs of Alzheimer’s caregivers, we conducted extensive user research, including 1) Interviews with Alzheimer's patients and family members caring for loved ones with the disease; 2) Field studies to observe how caregivers currently manage daily care, where we discovered that many rely on paper tracker templates to monitor symptoms over time. Through user research, we identified key user problems, such as the top worry among families: wandering, which is common and highly dangerous for Alzheimer's patients. We also understood caregivers' emotional strain, as families expressed significant stress and a strong need for mental support. Additionally, we also conducted secondary research through Alzheimer's healthcare websites and online resources to ensure our findings aligned with medical best practices.
Based on these insights, we designed Alzcare’s key features to directly address caregivers’ top pain points. Additionally, our visual and interaction design choices were guided by the unique needs of caregivers: 1) A warm and soothing color palette to make the app enjoyable for caregivers who are undergoing this long and stressful journey. 2) High contrast and larger typography to ensure readability and accessibility by caregivers in all age groups; 3) Voice input support for the conversational AI feature, allowing caregivers to get guidance hands-free while managing care tasks.
By incorporating these considerations, we created an app that is both highly functional and emotionally supportive, making caregivers' lives easier while enhancing the quality of care for their loved ones.
CHALLENGE: The biggest challenge was designing for caregivers' diverse needs while ensuring simplicity. Balancing emotional support with functionality required both deep research and intentional visual design choices. Caregivers' privacy concerns with real-time tracking, accessibility for older users, and integrating AI with reliable medical guidance were also key challenges we considered and overcame.
ADDED DATE: 2025-03-30 05:39:35
TEAM MEMBERS (2) : Yueling (Linda) Lai and Sicong (Nick) Zhou
IMAGE CREDITS: Yueling (Linda) Lai, Sicong (Nick) Zhou
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Yueling (Linda) Lai, Sicong (Nick) Zhou
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