Artefact Dialog

Core77 Award Entry

March 2014

Gap between consumer electronics and healthcare technology experiences

Chronic Conditions
Will increasingly define our experiences with our health.

Facts about Chronic Conditions

Chronic conditions are by far the leading

cause of mortality in the world,
representing 63% of all deaths.
In the United States, 75% of adults aged 65 and older are
living with a chronic condition such as heart disease, cancer,
respiratory disease, and diabetes.

Non-communicable conditions are projected to account for

just over three quarters of all deaths by the year 2030.
World Health Organization

Pew

Epilepsy
Has far-reaching impact, but has been mostly unaddressed
by technology innovations.

Facts about Epilepsy

Nearly 3 million people living in the U.S.

have epilepsy. Each year 50,000 people in
the U.S. die from epilepsy-related cause.
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in
the U.S. after Alzheimers and stroke. It effects more people
than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and Parkinsons
combined.
Epilepsy Foundation

Epilepsy was ranked 14th in incidence of annual disease

burden in North America, but received less than 1% of the
total NIH research funding budget. Lung cancer (15th) and
prostate cancer (18th) were less prevalent, but received more
than twice the funding.
PLOS One

Living with Epilepsy

Complex, unpredictable, and misunderstood

Jody

Jen and Mateo

Kim and Gabby

There is no reason to stigmatize these

things further

Last week was hard. Every time

theres a seizure theres the possibility
of brain damage. I was in the kitchen
doing dishes and I didnt hear the
seizure start so I dont know really how
long it went. I found him laying next to
the couch, rigid and foamingIt had
been 2 years since his last seizure.

Weve never had a seizure free day,

and she will be 8 next month. Her
seizures cluster, sometimes for 3
hours, but we dont see all of them. We
try different meds, and the seizures will
wax and wane. Anything lowers her
threshold everything varies all the
7
time

The condition is isolating since it is not

well known. There is this shame in
losing control of your mind. From a very
early age I knew to keep my fathers
condition a secret

Living with Epilepsy

Stages

Challenges

Pre-Event

Event

Recovery

Living

May or may not include

onset indicators and my
have unclear or
inconsistent triggers

Which may come at any

time, no matter what
the patient is doing or
who is around them

May take minutes or

months and may have
different degrees of
impact

Your desired life, while

avoiding triggers and
minimizing the effect of
epilepsy on your
emotions and identity

Complexity of triggers

Unpredictability of
episodes

Cognitive gaps

Social stigma

Frustration with
therapies

Public not knowing

what to do

Emotional impact
Limits on activities

Better Future
Addresses the entire experience of living with epilepsy, and
not just one aspect of the experience.

Empower

Connect

Encourage

Inform

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Mission Statement

Dialog helps people with

epilepsy achieve a deeper
understanding and make
better decisions about their
condition, so they can live
life as freely as possible.
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Natural Voice User Interface:

B.E.T.H.
With the eliXir, you're never
truly alone, B.E.T.H. is always
there by your side. B.E.T.H. is
your diabetes companion, and
she will let you access more life.

Family Caregivers
The eliXir gives
your loved ones
the power to
help you even if
they're not
physically there.

Connect via voice, video, or text

Patient

Clinician
Your doctor will
receive your daily
biodata so that you
can get the treatment
that you truly need.

Report details about glucose,

diet and preferences.

The eliXir has the capability to alert you and

those around you, should your blood sugar levels
drop dangerously low or spike too high.

Comfortably wear the device as a wrist

accessory with a srap, or attach it to your
body using adhesive connectors.
Record biometric
data in real-time
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Features and Benefits

Delivered to the patient, family caregiver, clinician, and bystander
have positive impact on the entire experience of living with epilepsy.

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Features and Benefits

Lightweight
Logging
Dialog enables natural, frictionless timestamping of seizure onset and auras by
the patient discretely and in the flow of
everyday life. Additional key data like
mood and medication adherence can also
be input on the worn module. Input may
be prompted or user initiated depending
on the users preference and how the
patient is doing with his condition.

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Grasp

Double Tap

Haptic Feedback

Gestural Input

Natural Interactions
The interaction language on the worn module is natural and uses different gesture types to signify different types of inputs and
outputs. Grasp gestures (which may be all the patient can do while seizing) represent emergency calls for help. Double tap calls
up aura input, haptic feedback subtly draws attention to medication reminders, and directional touch motions indicate moods.

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Features and Benefits

Detailed Reporting
from Patient App
Dialog supports detailed reporting by both the patient and family
caregivers about observable symptoms the patient experiences as well as
other relevant activities and events. Being able to describe these
symptoms in detail will help the patient learn what subtle differences in
symptoms mean and how different life activities impact their condition.

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Hydration Sensor
Thermometer
Optical Sensors
GSR Sensors
Piezo Notification
Light Emitter
(ECG, Pulse Oximetry)

Light Sensor
Pressure Sensor
Microphone
Accelerometer

Biometric and Environmental Data

Dialog collects key biometric data about the patient and key environmental data. These data, in addition to what is selfreported, represent the constellation of factors which may signify or cause seizures.

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Features and Benefits

Insights from
Data
for Patient and
Clinician
Dialog aligns biometric,
environmental, and self-reported
data about the patient and makes
them visible in aggregate over time.
This enables the patient to learn
from past experiences and to make
decisions in the moment about any
situation they may encounter.

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Features and Benefits

Early Warnings
Dialog communicates to the patient or
family caregivers the potential onset of a
seizure so that the patient can proactively
get to a safe setting or take any
preventative action possible to prepare for
the seizure.

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Features and Benefits

Instructions for Response

through Bystander App
Dialogs bystander app helps possible first responders be notified that a
patient who is nearby is having a sustained seizure, directs the
Bystander to the patient, gives instructions on how to help the patient
through the emergency, and affords a direct line of communication to
the family caregiver.

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Features and Benefits

Patient
Reorientation
from Patient
App
The Dialog patient app refers the patient
to key contextual data after an absence so
that they can quickly become reoriented
and fill in any cognitive gaps from a
seizure event. Contextual data can be
biometric data about the patient or
communications between the family
caregiver and a bystander who responded
to the patient in need.

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Materials and Comfort

A flexible screen, battery, touch overlay, and casing enables the worn module to fit the contours of the human body. Translucent
materials blur the boundaries between human and device and simultaneously make module discrete but still forward looking.

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Features and Benefits

Flexible Wearing Styles and

Placements
Flexible wearing styles support patient preferences for how the device is
worn and lets the patient tradeoff quality of data for wearing location,
depending on how they want to be managing their condition. Flexibility
also supports patients emotional needs, whether for discretion and
privacy regarding their condition or to feel special and proud.

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Features and Benefits

Personalization of
Aesthetics and Functions
Different aesthetic options can make the worn module more appropriate
to and accepted by a wider range of patients. System configurability also
lets the patient control things like the types of data they collect and who
alarms get sent to first depending on where they are.

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Features and Benefits

Soft Capacitive Lens

Pressure Sensitive Layer

Bendable E-Ink Display
Light Sensor
Microphone
Bluetooth LE Module
3 Axis Accelerometer & Gyroscope

Technical
Feasibility
The individual technology components
that Dialog uses are currently being

Bendable PCB

developed, prototyped, and tested in

laboratory settings. Dry sensors, flexible

Thinergy Bendable Flat Battery

displays, and thin batteries already exist.

New paths to rich digital EEG data are

Induction Charging Coil

also currently in clinical trials or have

received approval.

Soft Case

Sensor Platform
Input & Output Electrodes

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We conceive, design, and develop technology products

and services for the 21st century
Artefact was founded in 2006 and has a rapidly-growing staff of researchers, software
developers, business developers, brand strategists, and visual, industrial, and
interaction designers. Our company was founded by two Microsoft veterans, Gavin
Kelly and Rob Girling, to become one of the worlds premier strategic design firms
focused on software-mediated experiences.
Our mission is to consistently deliver second-to-none quality, insight, creativity, and
business value for our clients.
artefactgroup.com
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