Design a companion app for physical therapists to manage ReNeu settings

Harvard Move Lab- Supported by NIH’s Blueprint MedTech program
My role: Product Design Lead
Team: Technical Lead, Software Developer, Apparel Designer, Physical Therapist
Date: Jan 2023- Jul 2025

Background

reNeu integrates novel diagnostic, assistive, and rehabilitative technology to support gait restoration in stroke recovery. It delivers small electrical impulses to targeted muscles or nerves, triggering movement. Equipped with IMU sensors, the device detects gait stages in real time and adjusts stimulation to induce plantar flexion (PF) or dorsiflexion (DF).

A Physical Therapist can fine-tune the settings via an app to ensure optimal timing.

To evaluate the device’s effectiveness and identify the stroke populations it benefits most, clinical trials are necessary. These trials involve a multidisciplinary team—including engineers, a physical therapist, an apparel designer, a software developer, and researchers—who collaborate during sessions with stroke survivors.

The challenge:

The large number of staff members in each session creates a chaotic environment, prolongs study sessions, and leads to inefficiencies, wasting time and energy.

Problem

As part of the NIH grant, we have been asked to run 50 clinical trials in 1 year.
Each clinical trial takes about 5 hours.

50*5 = 250 hours
250 hours is 12% of work hour in a year.
And in each trial, 9 staff members involved.

250 * 9 = 2,250 hours

Solution

Reduce number of members to 2 staff members

78% reduction in staff requirements

500 hours

Solution

Design an app to help the researchers and PTs to run studies with few number of STAFF (one PT and one assistant) during the session.

Previously:

The system was overly complex:

  • Donning the device required the presence of researchers, an apparel designer, and a biomechanics engineer.

  • The app’s complexity necessitated a software developer, researchers, and biomechanics engineers during the study.

Previous workflow

New workflow

Previous App

The previous app had all the steps on one screen which led to:

  • Information overload, reducing decision quality and making the interface feel complicated.

  • High cognitive load, with unnecessary adjustments that physical therapists didn’t need.

  • Confusing UI elements, where some buttons lacked affordance—users clicked but saw no response (e.g., hitting SET STIM PROFILE provided no feedback).

  • Lack of clear workflow, making it unclear where to start and what to do next.

  • No visual anchoring, leaving users without guidance on where to focus their attention.

New App

  • Donning

    The new app streamlines the session with separate pages for each step:

  • Pre-session

    Progressive disclosure: Complex features are gradually revealed to prevent information overload.

  • Connection

    Clear visual hierarchy: ensuring users perceive information in a clear, structured order to guide their attention effectively.

  • Static Tuning

    Visual cues for guidance: Images illustrate key steps, such as whether stroke survivors should sit or stand during adjustments.

  • Training Setup

    Reduced cognitive load: Features are separated across different pages for better focus and usability.

  • Training

Results

Having 2 staff members in the study sessions, instead of having 9 members.

✅ 78% reduction in staff requirement

Results from 4 Sessions with the New Design:

✅ Physical therapists resolved errors/issues independently.
✅ Wrong clicks reduced by 89%.
✅ Study sessions were 35 minutes shorter on average.

PTs’ Feedback:

📢 "It looks great—user-friendly and self-explanatory."

Reachable
WurQ