#app

#startup

#Multi-media design

Intuitive data management app for dialysis patients

Intuitive data management app for dialysis patients

Designed and launched a data management app on the Apple Store to track daily body metrics and dialysis progress by syncing with a portable dialysis device. As the founding designer, I led the end-to-end process, from user research to prototyping, built the illustration and design system from the ground up, and helped the startup raise $600K in pitch funding through impactful design.

End to end design

3 months

CEO, 3 developers

Background

Over 1 million people receive dialysis, with many choosing Peritoneal Dialysis (PD)—a home-based treatment where a special fluid is introduced into the abdomen to remove waste and excess fluids. The process, called an exchange, is done multiple times a day manually or overnight using a machine.

Problems in current Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) system

Users struggle with manual data recording and lack real-time data syncing

Patients visit the hospital just once a month, limiting timely support, while manual data tracking adds to their daily burden.

Users struggle with home treatment and limited clinical support due to labor shortages

PD requires manual treatment four times daily, which is hard to manage—especially for elderly or physically weak patients.

Uppermed is the solution

1

Portable Dialysis, Anywhere

PD Care empowers patients to perform dialysis safely in any clean environment without the need to hang dialysate high, using a compact portable pump.

1

Portable Dialysis, Anywhere

PD Care empowers patients to perform dialysis safely in any clean environment without the need to hang dialysate high, using a compact portable pump.

2

Smart Health Tracking

The system syncs dialysate volume, blood pressure, and body metrics to the app, generating monthly reports for better treatment monitoring.

2

Smart Health Tracking

The system syncs dialysate volume, blood pressure, and body metrics to the app, generating monthly reports for better treatment monitoring.

After

What is Uppermed?

UpperMed's PD Care is a portable device that simplifies self-administered peritoneal dialysis, giving patients more flexibility in when and where they perform treatment. It automatically tracks fluid flow, transparency, and volume, syncing data to an app. Initially sold direct-to-consumer, UpperMed plans to expand into hospital management systems.

I am responsible to design the data management app.
To uncover dialysis patients' insights, I conducted 25 interviews with patients(40-80y) and clinicians.

I am responsible to design the data management app.
To uncover dialysis patients' insights, I conducted 25 interviews with patients(40-80y) and clinicians.


Jacky Wang

55 / Male

Details

Peter, aged 40, transitioned from being a taxi driver to a new career path due to illness. He is a father of two children under the age of 18.

Need

Improve communication of symptoms and challenges with doctors.

I feel more empowered to manage my treatment progress.

Challenge

Inconvenient to record body data 4 times a day.

Occasionally forgets to check in at the hospital.

Patient's challenge

Difficulty managing heavy dialysate bags and maintaining a stable exchange setup.

Restricted daily routines due to treatment demands.

Infrequent hospital visits limit timely health monitoring.

Medical staff's challenge

Depend on phone check-ins, leading to limited and less reliable patient updates.

Challenged in offering prompt and accurate support.

Lack access to real-time treatment data.

How might we design an app that helps PD patients manage their treatment and data more easily while staying connected with healthcare providers?

1

1

1

Automatically track and sync treatment data to reduce the burden of manual data entry for patients

2

2

2

Enable real-time monitoring and easy sharing of health data with medical staff

3

3

3

Improve treatment adherence and accuracy through clear, guided logging

4

4

4

Ensure data privacy, security, and accessibility across devices

Design goals

Design goals

I created the sitemap first to establish a foundation for the navigation structure

I created the sitemap first to establish a foundation for the navigation structure

I got 3 ideations of dashboard

I got 3 ideations of dashboard

Before moving to the next step, I conducted a user test with 10 participants and the 3rd idea was selected for further development with the most votes from users.

Present chosen ideas to the team with wireframes

Present chosen ideas to the team with wireframes

And create prototypes for user testing and team collaboration

Uppermed App was designed to make it easier for patients to track their treatments by providing a dashboard that collects data and trend charts that display the data's progression while also enabling seamless communication with care providers through a chat function. This makes treatment management easier for patients.

"Got NPS score 9 in final design's usability test!" 

"Got NPS score 9 in final design's usability test!" 

User test Result

User test Result

The user testing included 10 patients and 10 clinicians. The testing plan involved various tasks, and feedback was collected afterward. I selected error rates and Net Promoter Score (NPS) to assess users' comprehension and satisfaction with our app, serving as key indicators of design success.

1

Error rates

9/10 of patients completed the right paths of 5 tasks we created successfully without errors.

1

Error rates

9/10 of patients completed the right paths of 5 tasks we created successfully without errors.

2

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Our average rating for the question "How likely is it that you would recommend our product to a friend or colleague on a scale from 1 to 10?" was 9, demonstrating high user satisfaction with the app.

2

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Our average rating for the question "How likely is it that you would recommend our product to a friend or colleague on a scale from 1 to 10?" was 9, demonstrating high user satisfaction with the app.

3

Other feedback

10/10 of doctors and nurses provide positive feedback that the app helped them reduce their workload.

3

Other feedback

10/10 of doctors and nurses provide positive feedback that the app helped them reduce their workload.

Design iterations from user testing

Design iterations from user testing

After discussing the wireframe with PM and developers and confirming the structure aligning with the requirements, I started to design the first version of hi-fi design. I tested 10 users with clickable prototypes and got feedback from them and made the iteration. Furthermore, I verified the accessibility of color and font with WCAG guidelines during the iteration, to ensure that elderly users can easily read the content.

INTERACTION IS NOT INTUITIVE

  • The time picker for “today” was not obvious enough. The detailed data is an expanded card to view and make the info overloaded on the same page.


  • The chat function is important and commonly used, but was hidden in the account tab. It should not be hard to find it.

INTERACTION IS NOT INTUITIVE

  • The time picker for “today” was not obvious enough. The detailed data is an expanded card to view and make the info overloaded on the same page.


  • The chat function is important and commonly used, but was hidden in the account tab. It should not be hard to find it.

CATEGORY IS HIDDEN

  • On this screen, the main 4 categories data are hidden in the dropbox. It is not very intuitive to see all categories at first and is hard to switch to others.


  • This lack of clarity made it challenging for users to navigate seamlessly between different categories, leading to confusion and contributing to user drop-off issues.

CATEGORY IS HIDDEN

  • On this screen, the main 4 categories data are hidden in the dropbox. It is not very intuitive to see all categories at first and is hard to switch to others.


  • This lack of clarity made it challenging for users to navigate seamlessly between different categories, leading to confusion and contributing to user drop-off issues.

Click the image below to view the high-fidelity Figma file.

Hi-Fi prototype

Challenge
& reflection

  • I've enhanced empty states to spark curiosity, implemented family mode for remote treatment monitoring, and added lively animations to make note-taking more engaging.

  • Through extensive usability testing and user feedback, I improved our health app. It's gratifying to see it help kidney failure patients manage their self-treatment and journey to recovery.

  • This project taught me that empathy is crucial for designers to understand and meet users' needs effectively. ✨

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What are current issues in this system?

1

Patient Burden

Manually recording body fluid balance, blood pressure, and body weight on paper four times a day is time-consuming and burdensome for patients.

1

Patient Burden

Manually recording body fluid balance, blood pressure, and body weight on paper four times a day is time-consuming and burdensome for patients.

2

Provider Inefficiencies

Healthcare professionals encounter difficulties in effectively monitoring patient progress, especially during in-person clinic visits.

2

Provider Inefficiencies

Healthcare professionals encounter difficulties in effectively monitoring patient progress, especially during in-person clinic visits.

3

Hard communication

Traditional patient-healthcare team communication lacks efficiency, relying on phone calls or third-party apps without a systematic approach.

3

Hard communication

Traditional patient-healthcare team communication lacks efficiency, relying on phone calls or third-party apps without a systematic approach.

4

Difficulty in Treatment progress management

It's challenging to track treatment progress using traditional paper-based methods and to record daily treatment data.

4

Difficulty in Treatment progress management

It's challenging to track treatment progress using traditional paper-based methods and to record daily treatment data.

1

Error rates

9/10 of patients completed the right paths of 5 tasks we created successfully without errors.

1

Error rates

9/10 of patients completed the right paths of 5 tasks we created successfully without errors.

2

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Our average rating for the question "How likely is it that you would recommend our product to a friend or colleague on a scale from 1 to 10?" was 9, demonstrating high user satisfaction with the app.

2

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Our average rating for the question "How likely is it that you would recommend our product to a friend or colleague on a scale from 1 to 10?" was 9, demonstrating high user satisfaction with the app.

3

Other feedback

10/10 of doctors and nurses provide positive feedback that the app helped them reduce their workload.

3

Other feedback

10/10 of doctors and nurses provide positive feedback that the app helped them reduce their workload.

Designed and built by Karina Su @2025

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Designed and built by Karina Su @2025

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Email

Email

Designed and built by Karina Su @2025

Email

Email

Linkedin

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