Therapeutic Device UX Study for Rare Genetic Condition
A global medical firm developing a therapeutic device for a rare genetic condition needed to understand how patients, caregivers, and nurses experience device use in daily life. With existing devices perceived as difficult to operate and psychologically burdensome, the study aimed to inform more intuitive and reassuring design directions.
Our Work
- Face-to-face hands-on IDI (90 min) with: N=2 patient-caregiver (parent) pairs, N=2 caregivers (parents only), and N=2 nurses
- Participants physically handled and operated prototype devices during sessions, with stepwise questioning to surface usability, psychological barriers, and injection-related concerns
- Explored daily life contexts — school, travel, outdoor settings — to identify real-world barriers and opportunities for seamless device integration
The Outcome
- Achieved smooth and timely recruitment of a rare disease population through partner-enabled access to patient communities — unusually efficient for a rare disease study
- Revealed that seamless integration into daily life (portability, discretion, and age-appropriate ease of handling) is the key driver of continued device use
- A stepwise questioning approach successfully surfaced difficult-to-articulate injection-related fears and psychological burdens, providing actionable design guidance
“By carefully exploring daily life scenarios and emotional aspects, Carter helped us uncover the real, underlying user needs we were seeking. In particular, the step-by-step questioning approach was extremely valuable in drawing out difficult-to-express feelings such as fear and pain associated with injections.”
– Client Voice