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Mater Design Week

As part of my Professional Diploma in Service Design in the NCAD Dublin, I participated in Mater Design Week. Fellow students Madison Hawk, Moya Rothwell and myself worked alongside hospital staff to solve a brief put forward by the Mater Hospital staff themselves.

This brief was posed to us by Dr. Áine Lucey, Plastic Surgery Registrar at the Mater Hospital: 'Forehead flap reconstructive surgery can be quite a jarring procedure, after which many patients are shocked and find it difficult to adjust to their post surgery appearance. How can we better mentally prepare patients for what to expect during and after a forehead flap reconstructive surgery?'

2023

Service Design
Communication Design

NCAD
The Mater Hospital

Madison Hawke (MSc Medical Device Design)
Moya Rothwell (MSc Interaction Design)

Mater Design Week – a one week sprint where teams of students from MSc Medical Devices, MA Interaction Design and MA Service Design work alongside hospital staff to solve a series of challenges

On Monday we talked to Dr. Áine about her patients and procedures. On Tuesday, we interviewed Patient 1 before observing their flap removal surgery and speaking with the Consultant and SHO. We then interviewed Patient 2 about their healing experience. From this we developed Patient Journey Maps which outlined perceptions of patient experiences, with graphs showing emotions and communication with the healthcare system. Initially, we thought the main issue was communication between the patient and the healthcare system, but this changed after patient interviews.

Patient interviews, journey maps and the PCA Model, used in medical device design for Task Analysis, details steps in a procedure. We've adapted it to assign tasks to patients at touch-points with the healthcare system. Each task involves the patient's perception (senses), cognition (thought), and action to complete it.

We identified development opportunities from common pain points across all models. Both patients had issues with depth perception, leading to nose injuries and A&E visits. They were shocked by their post-surgery appearance and felt isolated. Additionally, they received unclear aftercare information. Our brief asked us to create a visual aid to better prepare patients psychologically for the results of their surgery.

Opportunities for improvement identified.

We identified opportunities from our insights and began prototyping solutions. We began with a physical prototype to aid depth perception, created a pre and post surgery leaflet information set and developed an image bank and AR filter.

We used physical prototyping to gain tangible feedback and facilitate clearer communication of ideas. It enabled us to iterate rapidly, reducing risks by identifying flaws early. Additionally, it enhanced user engagement and validated design concepts to ensure the final product met user needs.

The project concluded on Friday with an incredible presentation morning to hospital staff, consultants and designers. We passed out leaflets, showed a QR code to the auditorium so the audience could try out having a facial reconstructive surgery scar themselves.

The final deliverables.

We named the project 'Anseo: The Here & Now'. Anseo, is the Irish word for “present,” or “the here and now.” Our focus during the presentation was to keep patients mindful of the present, while looking forward to recovery in the future.

The project concluded on Friday with an incredible presentation morning to hospital staff, consultants and designers.

Madison represented Anseo in Croke Park in November 2023 at the Lean Six Sigma National Healthcare Symposium. It was an incredible opportunity to discuss our project, “The Use of Assisted Reality in Facial Reconstruction Surgery, A Pilot Project using Paramedian Forehead Flaps”.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Siobhan Manning, Dr Caoimhe McMahon, the Mater Hospital staff, Consultants, Surgical Regs, SHOs, and nurses for their patience and assistance, as well as Dr. Áine Lucey for challenging us with this brief. I cannot overstate the privilege it has been to be able to use design methods to assist the stellar work of healthcare staff and the heroic journeys of cancer patients. Thank you!