Gamified therapy tool for oncology and MS patients
Gamification
R&D
Interaction Design
Healthtech
I lead an R&D project at Click Therapeutics, developing an evidence-based, engaging digital therapy designed to help breast cancer and MS patients better manage chronic pain.
Problem:
Individuals with M.S. and Oncology often have issues with centralized pain. Studies show that having chronic conditions can cause you to focus more on negative words and experiences.
Goal:
A therapeutic activity for MS and cancer patients to shift focus away from negative emotions.
Outcome:
This project went through a clinical study. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and patients reported improvement in their pain levels.
My role: Lead Product Designer
Timeline: 2 months
Team: Product Manager, Scientist, Software Engineer
What is it and how is it played?
Users see two overlapping words, one negative, one neutral, and tilt their phone toward the neutral word. This helps shift focus from negativity and encourages balanced emotions over time.
As the user progresses, the levels become more advanced. There are 5 difficulty levels to keep users engaged.
How does it help the patient?
The activity featured in the app is designed to help users regain control over their attention, allowing them to flexibly shift their focus from negative words, thoughts, and past experiences.
How it started - early exploration
Early design explorations relied on competitive analysis and science team input. Initial options were often too complex or didn't fully fulfill science requirements.
In collaboration with science and research, we arrived at this solution.
A patient would see two overlapping words, and they are asked to recognize a positive word and tilt the phone in that direction, allowing them to shift their focus away from negative words, thoughts, and past experiences.
Iterations & Explorations
Adaptive difficulty
Adaptive difficulty L1
Different contrast
Different capitalization
Contrasting typefaces
Adaptive difficulty L2
Moving text
Adaptive difficulty L3
Different orientation and motion of text
Color blindness
I ran all color combinations through the color blindness plugin. Based on the image below, the most consistent version is the one at the top. It also passed the accessibility rating
Accessibility
Based on the feedback I received from testing and the dev team, I iterated on levels and changed some of the styling, like weight, opacity, and color.
Outcomes
The clinical study ran for 4 weeks
Breast cancer participants - 20
MS. participants - 9
Most participants perceived a variety of benefits, including improved condition, reduced physical symptoms, distraction from negative thoughts, and relaxation, though some participants were unsure of the long-term effects and desired clearer explanations of the benefits in the app.