Idea 1: The Doorbell Button
Consider the setting:
The button is best suited to the home environment, placed in locations which tie closely into activities which require cueing or which would benefit from tracking. Some examples include the bathroom sink for a prescription reminder button, the kitchen counter for an eating reminder button, or the front door for an outdoor exercise button. This device will serve a dual purpose as a cue to remind the elderly person to conduct the activity they need to be doing as well as notifying their loved ones and care providers that they are taking care of themselves, thus building confidence in their ability to live independently.
Define how to test:
The best way to test the viability of the doorbell button at this stage (pre-digital platform) is to attempt to habituate an elderly person to pressing an analog button in an optimal location. Simply asking a subject to press the button every time they complete a task will provide information on the ease of use and reliability of pressing the button. We will learn if it is reasonable to depend on the elderly to press the button when they complete independent living activities or if there needs to be other methods of cueing behaviors such as auditory cues or physical reminders.
How to conduct feedback:
Feedback from elderly subjects will provide valuable insight as to the utility of the button for cueing simple tasks and notifying caregivers of the status of their loved ones or patients. Asking the subjects for their opinions on using the button, how reliably they used it during the test period, how often they thought about the button, and how easy it was to determine a location for the button are all questions that would deliver value to our prototype design.
Idea 2: The Dashboard
Consider the setting:
The dashboard is meant to be mounted to a wall at a convenient location in the elderly user’s home. Ideally, it would be positioned in a bedroom, kitchen, or any other room that the user often occupies. The dashboard will be an all-in-one platform that displays all of the user’s vital health statistics and sends this information in the form of a daily newsletter to the user’s family and doctors. It can also send instant notifications to the user’s loved ones in case of an emergency situation. The dashboard can be linked to other products in our proposed technological ecosystem or exist on its own, but works most effectively when connected to the button and wristband.
Define how to test:
There are a few ways that we can test the viability of this product. We will try to habituate an elderly person with a tablet device and observe how comfortable they are using it. We will also make a mock-up screen interface displaying sample sections of the dashboard, and show this prototype to both elderly users and medical professionals to gauge the importance of different metrics tracked by the dashboard.
How to conduct feedback:
We will collect feedback both from elderly patients and medical professionals in order to measure the comfortability that users have with our product and the relevance of what we plan to track on the dashboard. Elderly professionals will provide us insight on how comfortable they are using tablet technology, and will also tell us what metrics they find useful to track. We will also receive feedback from medical professionals about what vital statistics they consider important to monitor in their elderly patients. We will use this information to build an ideal dashboard that is both easy to use and a provider of essential, relevant information.
Idea 3: The Bracelet
Consider the Setting:
The bracelet is a multifunctional, easy-to-use accessory that provides peace of mind when the user is in their home or out on the town. It is meant to go beyond the capabilities of a typical fitness-tracking device, and complete the Optum Ecosystem as the wearable component. It would be able to track the same vital health statistics as the Dashboard, in addition to physical activity metrics. However, the capability that separates the Optum wristband from other products is its ability to detect falls and immediately notify your loves ones and healthcare professionals. Falls account for billions of dollars of costs each year, and undetected falls can lead to death. We plan to mitigate this issue with our wristband.
Define how to test:
In order to test this product, we plan on providing a post-retiree with some kind of smart wearable device (FitBit, Apple Watch) and observing their activity levels (if there is any change) and if they upload their daily activity. Since we don’t want anyone falling, we can test how easy it is to ask Siri or Alexa to place a call to a loved one to simulate that same act if it were in an emergency situation.
How to conduct feedback:
We recognize that providing a wearable device to a generation that may be generally unfamiliar with the product may be an obstacle. Also, when it comes to wearing anything, people tend to be picky. In addition to the features and ease of use, we would need to request feedback about how the product should look. We can fill out a survey asking them questions about their activity and also leave room for open-ended comments.