LifeGate pioneers innovation in daily monitoring and episodic intervention for chronic diseases, especially diabetes. With a patented technology to wirelessly transmit data from continuous glucose monitors, LifeGate engaged IDEO to design the patient-facing interface for their service.

It came as no surprise that medical alert systems can be stigmatizing, as evidenced by their common refrain “Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up!”. However, a more interesting insight from qualitative research was that many with chronic diseases prefer caring for others, as it makes them feel less like a patient. Therefore, instead of separate interfaces for patients and caregivers, we designed the system to allow community members to look after one another.

Our design effort was documented through a series of wireframes outlining key use cases and visual guidelines. These provided the foundation for the mobile application’s development by LifeGate’s partner. As the first project I led at IDEO, and given the enthusiastic client and important topic, it remains one of my favorite engagements.

Looking back on this work in 2024, my reflections are that all of the qualitative research would still be valid today. The solution of course would look very different.