Drain
Drain
Reimagining post-surgical care for breast cancer patients
Category;
Healthtech
Role;
Product Designer
Deliverables;
Mobile App
Overview
After mastectomy or reconstruction surgery, most breast cancer patients go home with surgical drains to prevent fluid buildup and promote healing. However, the current drain logging process is outdated—patients still track their output with pen and paper, making it messy, tedious, and prone to error.
To improve this experience, Drain offers a simple solution that allows patients to accurately log and track their daily drain output, streamlining communication with their physicians and enhancing post-surgical care.
Impact
While initially designed for breast cancer patients, my exploration revealed that the app’s framework could extend to improve patient outcomes in other post-surgical drain monitoring, such as surgical drains post a top removal surgery. The solution could transform drain management beyond mastectomy care broadening its impact across diverse surgical contexts.
HOW MIGHT WE
How might we streamline the logging process to
ensure a timely recovery for patients 🚀 ?
How might we ease the anxiety of breast cancer patients 🤕 ?
The problem
The current manual tracking method is flawed
Following surgery, surgical drains play a critical role in a patient’s recovery. Monitoring daily drain output is essential, as it helps physicians assess healing progress and determine when the drains can be safely removed. However, the current manual tracking method is flawed:
Outdated and error prone — Patients still rely on pen-and-paper logs, which are messy and easy to misplace.
Tedious and frustrating — The manual process is cumbersome, especially for patients recovering from invasive procedures.
Increased risk of complications — inaccurate or incomplete drain logs can delay removal and heighten the risk of infection or fluid buildup.
Competitve Analysis
Understanding the existing landscape and identify opportunities for innovation
The existing drain-tracking apps fell short due to gendered design, cluttered layouts, and lack of data visualization or comprehensive tracking tools for patients or physicians.
I also studied health apps with frequent data input to identify best practices around simplified entry, clear feedback, and accessible design for older, less tech-savvy users.
Surgical Drain Logger
Drain logger for post-op patients
My Calendar
Period tracker
Carb Manager
Keto diet tracker
Telahealth doc
Period tracker
User Interviews
Key insights from an oncologist and 5 patients in Thailand.
After learning the prevalence of breast cancer, I reached out to an oncologist and five patients in Thailand who were willing to share more details about their experience with the drains post their surgery. These interviews consisted of 30-minute Zoom and phone calls, where I listened to their stories and guided the discussions to focus on their struggle with the drain log.
Key insights and the most resonating quotes included the following:
Inefficient 🐢
“ There is no uniformity or quality of documentation.”
Anxiety and Uncertainty 🤕
“My doctor had to nag me to do it consistently because I forget."
Waiting too long ⏳
"It usually takes half a day out of my day to get my drains checked at the hospital."
Needs guidance 🤝
“ I keep forgetting how to drain and needed my doctor show me how to do it everytime."
User Interviews
Key insights from an oncologist and 5 patients in Thailand.
After learning the prevalence of breast cancer, I reached out to an oncologist and five patients in Thailand who were willing to share more details about their experience with the drains post their surgery. These interviews consisted of 30-minute Zoom and phone calls, where I listened to their stories and guided the discussions to focus on their struggle with the drain log.
Key insights and the most resonating quotes included the following:
Competitve Analysis
The existing drain-tracking apps fell short due to gendered design, cluttered layouts, and lack of data visualization or comprehensive tracking tools for patients or physicians.
I also studied health apps with frequent data input to identify best practices around simplified entry, clear feedback, and accessible design for older, less tech-savvy users.
Understanding the existing landscape and identify opportunities for innovation
My Calendar
Period tracker
Carb Manager
Keto Diet Tracker
Telahealth doc
Period tracker
Surgical Drain Logger
Drain logger for post-op patients
Personas
Synthesizing the understanding from my research and interviews.
To humanize the problem and ground my design decisions, I created three personas to represent key user groups - an oncologist, business owner, and single mother:
Personas
Synthesizing the understanding from my research and interviews.
To humanize the problem and ground my design decisions, I created three personas to represent key user groups - an oncologist, business owner, and single mother:
Design Goals
Based on my research, I defined thee following design goals:
Efficient 🚀
The app should streamline logging to help both doctors and patients.
Timely Feedback and Education 💬
The content should be simple and easy-to-understand to reduce cognitive load and keep users engaged.
Simple 🔠
Patients with differing levels of tech-waviness should be able to use it with ease.
Delightful ☺️
It must be delightful to use, as patients are undergoing anxiety and uncertainty.
Visual Design
When considering the style of my interface, I considered the emotions cancer patients must be going through so I decided to settle for cool and calming colors such as pink, purple, and blue. Light blue and grey are used extensively throughout the application to give it that light-weight and relaxed feel.
For the application to be used with older patients under high stress and anxiety, I made it a priority to make sure that the interface is inviting and easy to understand.
Key insights and the most resonating quotes included the following:
Visual Design
When considering the style of my interface, I considered the emotions cancer patients must be going through so I decided to settle for cool and calming colors such as pink, purple, and blue. Light blue and grey are used extensively throughout the application to give it that light-weight and relaxed feel.
For the application to be used with older patients under high stress and anxiety, I made it a priority to make sure that the interface is inviting and easy to understand.
Design Goals
Based on my research, I defined thee following design goals:
Efficient 🚀
The app should streamline logging to help both doctors and patients.
Timely Feedback and Education 💬
The content should be simple and easy-to-understand to reduce cognitive load and keep users engaged.
Simple 🔠
Patients with differing levels of tech-waviness should be able to use it with ease.
Delightful ☺️
It must be delightful to use, as patients are undergoing anxiety and uncertainty.
Drain log
Patients can easily log the amount of their drains, select a color, and save it with a time stamp.
Progress
Patients can see an overview of their progress and get feedback on how they're doing.
Calendar
Patients can see their upcoming appointments and entries for each day when they select dates on the calendar.
Reminder
Patients can set reminders to remind them when to drain.
Progress
Patients can see an overview of their progress and get feedback on how they're doing.
Calendar
Patients can see their upcoming appointments and entries for each day when they select dates on the calendar.
Reminder
Patients can set reminders to remind them when to drain.
Design Challenge
Designing the core drain log functionality for efficiency and ease of use.
For the drain log feature, I explored four design options and conducted both task-based usability testing and A/B testing with five patients to validate the app’s real-world usability.
Option A prioritized a patient-centered experience, focusing on delight and simplicity. In contrast, Options B, C, and D incorporated type number inputs to enhance efficiency. To select the final design, I consulted with a doctor to gather feedback on the most effective color choices, ultimately leading to Option D as the final design.
Drain
Reimagining
post-surgical care for
breast cancer patients
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
Drain
A mobile application for breast cancer patients to log and care for their drain.
The problem
The current manual tracking method is flawed
Following surgery, surgical drains play a critical role in a patient’s recovery. Monitoring daily drain output is essential, as it helps physicians assess healing progress and determine when the drains can be safely removed. However, the current manual tracking method is flawed:
Outdated and error prone — Patients still rely on pen-and-paper logs, which are messy and easy to misplace.
Tedious and frustrating — The manual process is cumbersome, especially for patients recovering from invasive procedures.
Increased risk of complications — inaccurate or incomplete drain logs can delay removal and heighten the risk of infection or fluid buildup.
Impact
While initially designed for breast cancer patients, my exploration revealed that the app’s framework could extend to improve patient outcomes in other post-surgical drain monitoring, such as surgical drains post a top removal surgery. The solution could transform drain management beyond mastectomy care broadening its impact across diverse surgical contexts.
Competitve Analysis
Understanding the existing landscape and identify opportunities for innovation
The existing drain-tracking apps fell short due to gendered design, cluttered layouts, and lack of data visualization or comprehensive tracking tools for patients or physicians.
I also studied health apps with frequent data input to identify best practices around simplified entry, clear feedback, and accessible design for older, less tech-savvy users.
USER INTERVIEWS
Key insights from an oncologist and 5 patients in Thailand.
After learning the prevalence of breast cancer, I reached out to an oncologist and five patients in Thailand who were willing to share more details about their experience with the drains post their surgery. These interviews consisted of 30-minute Zoom and phone calls, where I listened to their stories and guided the discussions to focus on their struggle with the drain log.
Key insights and the most resonating quotes included the following:
USER INTERVIEWS
Key insights from an oncologist and 5 patients in Thailand.
After learning the prevalence of breast cancer, I reached out to an oncologist and five patients in Thailand who were willing to share more details about their experience with the drains post their surgery. These interviews consisted of 30-minute Zoom and phone calls, where I listened to their stories and guided the discussions to focus on their struggle with the drain log.
Key insights and the most resonating quotes included the following:
User Interviews
Key insights from an oncologist and 5 patients in Thailand.
After learning the prevalence of breast cancer, I reached out to an oncologist and five patients in Thailand who were willing to share more details about their experience with the drains post their surgery. These interviews consisted of 30-minute Zoom and phone calls, where I listened to their stories and guided the discussions to focus on their struggle with the drain log.
Key insights and the most resonating quotes included the following:
Visual Design
When considering the style of my interface, I considered the emotions cancer patients must be going through so I decided to settle for cool and calming colors such as pink, purple, and blue. Light blue and grey are used extensively throughout the application to give it that light-weight and relaxed feel.
For the application to be used with older patients under high stress and anxiety, I made it a priority to make sure that the interface is inviting and easy to understand.
Personas
Synthesizing the understanding from my research and interviews.
To humanize the problem and ground my design decisions, I created three personas to represent key user groups - an oncologist, business owner, and single mother:
Design Goals
Based on my research, I defined thee following design goals:
Overview
After mastectomy or reconstruction surgery, most breast cancer patients go home with surgical drains to prevent fluid buildup and promote healing. However, the current drain logging process is outdated—patients still track their output with pen and paper, making it messy, tedious, and prone to error.
To improve this experience, Drain offers a simple solution that allows patients to accurately log and track their daily drain output, streamlining communication with their physicians and enhancing post-surgical care.
Inefficient 🐢
“ There is no uniformity or quality of documentation.”
Anxiety and Uncertainty 🤕
“My doctor had to nag me to do it consistently because I forget."
Waiting too long ⏳
"It usually takes half a day out of my day to get my drains checked at the hospital."
Needs guidance 🤝
“ I keep forgetting how to drain and needed my doctor show me how to do it everytime."
Efficient 🚀
The app should streamline logging to help both doctors and patients.
Timely Feedback and Education 💬
The content should be simple and easy-to-understand to reduce cognitive load and keep users engaged.
Simple 🔠
Patients with differing levels of tech-waviness should be able to use it with ease.
Delightful ☺️
It must be delightful to use, as patients are undergoing anxiety and uncertainty.
My Calendar
Period tracker
Carb Manager
Keto Diet Tracker
Telahealth doc
Period tracker
Surgical Drain Logger
Drain logger for post-op patients
Category;
Healthtech
Role;
Product Designer
Deliverables;
Mobile App
HOW MIGHT WE
How might we streamline the logging process to
ensure a timely recovery for patients 🚀 ?
How might we ease the anxiety of breast cancer patients 🤕 ?
Reminder
Patients can set reminders to remind them when to drain.
Drain log
Patients can easily log the amount of their drains, select a color, and save it with a time stamp.
Progress
Patients can easily log the amount of their drains, select a color, and save it with a time stamp.
Calendar
Patients can see their upcoming appointments and entries for each day when they select dates on the calendar.
Key Learnings
Empathy 💗
As patients may be going through a difficult time. Be sensitive to their emotional state and avoid asking questions that could be triggering or upsetting.
Constantly Iterating 🔄
It is better to show users my designs and iterate early in the process.
If I had more time . . .
Integration 📂
Explore integration into broader healthcare systems for better patient care and data management .
Scale 📈
How might I scale it to include other cancer treatments or trans getting a top surgery or cater to different stages of treatment and drain types.
Community Building 👩👩👧👧
Explore how I can integrate support groups.
Physical Product Design 🩸
Redesign the measuring cup and drains to truly revolutionize the patients’ experience.
Key Learnings
Empathy 💗
As patients may be going through a difficult time. Be sensitive to their emotional state and avoid asking questions that could be triggering or upsetting.
Constantly Iterating 🔄
It is better to show users my designs and iterate early in the process.
If I had more time . . .
Integration 📂
Explore integration into broader healthcare systems for better patient care and data management .
Scale 📈
How might I scale it to include other cancer treatments or trans getting a top surgery? / Cater to different stages of treatment and drain types.
Community Building 👩👩👧👧
Explore how I can integrate support groups .
Physical Product Design 🩸
Redesign the measuring cup and drains to truly revolutionize the patients’ experience.
Design Challenge
For the drain log feature, I explored four design options and conducted both task-based usability testing and A/B testing with five patients to validate the app’s real-world usability.
Option A prioritized a patient-centered experience, focusing on delight and simplicity. In contrast, Options B, C, and D incorporated type number inputs to enhance efficiency. To select the final design, I consulted with a doctor to gather feedback on the most effective color choices, ultimately leading to Option D as the final design.
Designing the core drain log functionality for efficiency and ease of use.
Key Learnings
Empathy 💗
As patients may be going through a difficult time. Be sensitive to their emotional state and avoid asking questions that could be triggering or upsetting.
Constantly Iterating 🔄
It is better to show users my designs and iterate early in the process.
The problem
The current manual tracking method is flawed
Following surgery, surgical drains play a critical role in a patient’s recovery. Monitoring daily drain output is essential, as it helps physicians assess healing progress and determine when the drains can be safely removed. However, the current manual tracking method is flawed:
Outdated and error prone — Patients still rely on pen-and-paper logs, which are messy and easy to misplace.
Tedious and frustrating — The manual process is cumbersome, especially for patients recovering from invasive procedures.
Increased risk of complications — inaccurate or incomplete drain logs can delay removal and heighten the risk of infection or fluid buildup.
If I had more time . . .
Integration 📂
Explore integration into broader healthcare systems for better patient care and data management .
Scale 📈
How might I scale it to include other cancer treatments or trans getting a top surgery or cater to different stages of treatment and drain types.
Community Building 👩👩👧👧
Explore how I can integrate support groups.
Physical Product Design 🩸
Redesign the measuring cup and drains to truly revolutionize the patients’ experience.
Overview
After mastectomy or reconstruction surgery, most breast cancer patients go home with surgical drains to prevent fluid buildup and promote healing. However, the current drain logging process is outdated—patients still track their output with pen and paper, making it messy, tedious, and prone to error.
To improve this experience, Drain offers a simple solution that allows patients to accurately log and track their daily drain output, streamlining communication with their physicians and enhancing post-surgical care.
Impact
While initially designed for breast cancer patients, my exploration revealed that the app’s framework could extend to improve patient outcomes in other post-surgical drain monitoring, such as surgical drains post a top removal surgery. The solution could transform drain management beyond mastectomy care broadening its impact across diverse surgical contexts.