03 — Case Study
A connected medication ecosystem that helps elderly users stay independent — and caregivers stay quietly informed.
02 — The Change
Concept · Working hackathon prototype — not deployed with patients
Context — what this is
MedEase is a concept IoT (internet-connected) medication system built in a 60-day hackathon — a cartridge-based dispenser plus a caregiver mobile app. It started as an ambient reminder lamp and was reframed once research showed reminders were never the gap.
Who it serves
Older adults managing five or more daily medications at home, and the family caregivers who worry about them from a distance.
My role — what I owned
Key evidence
Key design decisions
Why it mattered
"What would it take to make one dose feel effortless — for both the person taking it and the person watching?"
Nearly half of adults over 65 manage five or more medications a day. Existing reminders bark, buzz and repeat — but never check whether the pill was actually taken.
03 — Product Journey
Research, ideation and iteration told as one continuous shift in thinking — not four separate chapters.
01 · Beat
A gentle ambient reminder that glowed at medication times. Beautiful, calm — and completely unable to know if the dose was actually taken.
02 · Beat
Interviews with caregivers made it obvious: the anxiety isn't 'did they hear it?' — it's 'did they take it?'. A reminder without confirmation is just noise.
03 · Turning point
We reframed the brief. Not a reminder. Not a lamp. A dispensing ecosystem — dose, detection and reassurance held together as one product.
04 · Beat
A cartridge-based dispenser, a caregiver app and a quiet feedback loop between them. The story of the product became the story of confidence.
04 — Design Decisions
Each decision names the situation it solved, the reasoning behind it, and the trade-off we accepted. Outcomes below were observed in prototype testing, not in production.
Decision 01
Decision 02
Decision 03
Decision 04
Decision 05
Decision 06
05 — Final Experience
Instead of a gallery of screens, follow a single moment through the device, the app and the person who cares.
Device, cartridge, caregiver app — one continuous flow rather than three separate products.
07:58
The device warms to life two minutes before the dose. No sound yet. The room simply becomes aware.
08:00
Ambient light, a gentle chime, and a caregiver-approved message on the display: 'Morning tablets, Amma.'
08:01
The correct cartridge rotates into position. One dose. Never more. The patient never chooses.
08:01
A single tap releases the tablets into a shallow tray at hand height — designed for arthritic fingers, not fine motor skills.
08:02
Sensors register the tray being cleared. The dose is marked taken. If it isn't, MedEase waits — quietly — before escalating.
08:03
A silent tick appears in their app. No notification. Just the reassurance that today, like yesterday, is going well.
06 — Validation
Two rounds of Maze studies and three rounds of in-home walkthroughs with families. Every figure below was measured on the prototype — MedEase was never deployed, so there is no adherence or business data to report.
92%
Task success in moderated tests
4.6/5
Perceived confidence, caregivers
3×
Faster setup after iteration 02
0
Wrong-medication events in testing
Setup
Before
12 steps across two apps and a QR flow.
After
4 steps — cartridge in, pair, name, done.
Reminder tone
Before
Fixed alarm sound that felt clinical.
After
Ambient light first, sound only if ignored.
Caregiver visibility
Before
Push notification for every event.
After
Silent daily summary; alerts only on miss.
07 — Outcome
Design outcome: a dispenser and caregiver app that confirm intake instead of assuming it. User outcome: measured only in prototype sessions. Business outcome: none — the project ended at the hackathon.
Recognition
Hackathon Winner
60-day multidisciplinary sprint. Working prototype, connected app, tested with caregivers and clinicians.
You can't hide a bad flow behind an animation when someone has to physically hold your product at 8am.
Test with patients living alone. Almost every walkthrough happened with a caregiver in the room, which quietly made the device look easier than it is.
Refill logistics and what happens when a prescription changes mid-cycle. We designed the happy path far better than the disruption path.
Confirmed-intake rate over a full month at home, and how often caregivers act on an escalation versus ignore it.
Closing
Designing confidence into every dose.
Next project
A cultural digital museum reframing how heritage, flavour and story travel across generations. Currently in progress.
— Contact
— Get in touch
Hi, I'm Nitya - a Product Designer / UX/UI Designer working across fintech, healthcare and learning. Currently focused on research-led, accessible product work. If you're hiring or want to talk about a project, the fastest way is email.