Overview

Context

Research

Solution

Validation

Project

Team (Sue Hong, Yaezi Lee, Evan Zhang)

Duration

6 Weeks
Oct 2025 ~ Dec 2025

Tools

Figma, Adobe After Effects, Illustrator

Awards

MUSE Design Awards 2026

MUSE Design Awards 2026

Indigo Design Award 2026

Indigo Design Award 2026

My role

Product Designer

I led the problem framing, UI design and interactive prototyping.

Overview

Reeha improves upper limb patient outcomes by making recovery engaging and fun.

Home rehabilitation is an important step for patients with upper limb injury; but repetitive tasks, slow improvements, and limited provider guidance reduce their motivations and hinders recovery.

Final Design

Today's Exercise

The home screen surfaces mainly what the patient does next: exercises, total time, one play button. History, week view, and achievements live further down.

Final Design

Today's Exercise

The home screen surfaces mainly what the patient does next: exercises, total time, one play button. History, week view, and achievements live further down.

Setup

The setup flow assumes the patient may have only one functional hand. Voice commands replace taps wherever they can and camera calibration uses large visual targets.

Setup

The setup flow assumes the patient may have only one functional hand. Voice commands replace taps wherever they can and camera calibration uses large visual targets.

Tutorials

Each tutorial runs under 30 seconds and shows the movement from the same angle the camera will see during the session. The patient's mental rehearsal matches what the screen will reflect back during the exercise.

Tutorials

Each tutorial runs under 30 seconds and shows the movement from the same angle the camera will see during the session. The patient's mental rehearsal matches what the screen will reflect back during the exercise.

Themed Mini Game Exercises

A patient lifts their arm, and on screen frosting flows onto a cupcake. The motion the therapist prescribed is the same motion the game requires. The patient isn't translating between "exercise" and "game," they're doing one thing. Difficulty scales with each patient's range-of-motion data, so the cupcakes get easier or harder without announcing the change. We deliberately avoided "level up" language. because progress should feel like recovery.

Themed Mini Game Exercises

A patient lifts their arm, and on screen frosting flows onto a cupcake. The motion the therapist prescribed is the same motion the game requires. The patient isn't translating between "exercise" and "game," they're doing one thing. Difficulty scales with each patient's range-of-motion data, so the cupcakes get easier or harder without announcing the change. We deliberately avoided "level up" language. because progress should feel like recovery.

Clinic for Care

The Clinic tab keeps the care team present between visits. Recent messages from the therapist sit at the top. Progress charts focus on small wins (degrees of motion regained, sessions completed) because big milestones are months apart.

Clinic for Care

The Clinic tab keeps the care team present between visits. Recent messages from the therapist sit at the top. Progress charts focus on small wins (degrees of motion regained, sessions completed) because big milestones are months apart.

Designing for limited upper-limb mobility

Auditing touch targets under motor-accessibility constraints

Beyond the project, I returned independently to conduct a touch-target accessibility audit grounded in rehabilitation research. It was a self-initiated extension to test how the visual system holds under stricter motor-accessibility constraints. The color system passes WCAG on paper. The next question was whether the touch geometry holds for hands that can barely grip. So I returned to the prototype, alone, and audited it. Standard 44pt targets are calibrated for general populations. Reeha's users living with limited upper-limb mobility and fine motor control require larger targets. Therefore I set 60pt for primary exercise actions and 48pt for secondary navigation.

Legend

Color

Status

Size

Standard met

Application

🟢

Pass

≥60 px

Reeha recommended

Primary actions

🟡

Acceptable

48~59 px

Material Design 48dp

Secondary actions

🟠

Marginal

44~47 px

WCAG 2.1 AAA only

Avoid in production

🔴

Fail

<44 px

None

Violation

Trewin et al. (2018), "Accessibility Challenges for People with Disabilities Using Touchscreen Devices

Audit Summary

7 interactive elements audited

Color

Status

Number

Percentage

🟢

Pass

1

(14.29%)

🟡

Acceptable

0

(0%)

🟠

Marginal

0

(0%)

🔴

Fail

6

(85.71%)

Methodology

Standards referenced

Tools

Scope

WCAG 2.1 AAA (Success Criterion 2.5.5) Apple Human Interface Guidelines Material Design 3 [Domain-specific research citation]

Figma Annotate,
Stark Contrast Checker

3 screens · 7 interactive elements
Excluded: decorative elements, static content

Before & After

Accessibility Audit v1.0 · Personal extension · Self-initiated · May 202

Problem

Home rehabilitation often breaks down due to low motivation.

1. Continuing practice alone is hard. 2. Low motivation in repetitive and mundane exercise routine. 3. Uncertainty about performing exercises correctly.

10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116630

Stake Holder Map

The system had to speak two languages; clinical and home.

Our team mapped stakeholders to define scope and target users. The map also helped us identify essential clinical perspectives from therapists to guide product decisions and ensure clinical relevance.

How might we

make home rehabilitation for upper limb recovery more engaging so patients stay motivated throughout recovery?

How might we

make home rehabilitation for upper limb recovery more engaging so patients stay motivated throughout recovery?

User & Expert Interview

8 user interviews and 4 expert interviews

We identified monotony, confusion, and disconnection from clinical guidance as key barriers to sustained home rehabilitation. Patients don’t just want to perform exercises correctly but to feel supported. "I do my exercises, but I don't know if I'm doing them right." — Patient #3, 4 months post-surgery "When my therapist isn't watching, my form drifts within a week." — Patient #6 "Compliance drops after week 3 unless we add visual milestones." — Occupational Therapist, 12 years in upper-limb rehab

Patient Interview

Expert Interview

Full interview protocols and synthesis in case deck.

Interview Insights

Users don’t just want to do exercises correctly. They want to feel accompanied, understood, and see their own progress over time.

Across both groups the same two clusters surfaced: design & tech gaps in the tools they had, and psychological barriers in the experience itself.

a woman with her back to the camera
a woman with her back to the camera
Who We Designed For

Adults aged 25 to 60 recovering from upper-limb injuries at home.

Geriatric rehab follows different protocols and emotional models. We focused on working-age adults. They are old enough to have established home routines that recovery interrupts, young enough to expect digital tools to meet them halfway.

Who We Designed For

Adults aged 25 to 60 recovering from upper-limb injuries at home.

Geriatric rehab follows different protocols and emotional models. We focused on working-age adults. They are old enough to have established home routines that recovery interrupts, young enough to expect digital tools to meet them halfway.

Persona

Six months in, alone at home.

Sarah is 31, a preschool teacher in Pittsburgh. She tore her rotator cuff indoor climbing last spring. The first month she had PT three times a week and could feel herself getting better. The five months since have had her at home, mostly alone.

a man wearing glasses

Name

Sarah

Age

31

Location

US

Job

Preschool Teacher

Hobby

Indoor climbing

What she said

"I don't always know if I'm doing it right, and there's nobody to ask."

"I'll do it for a week, miss two days, and then I can't get back to it."

"The exercises aren't hard. Remembering why I'm doing them is hard."

What she actually needs

  • A reason to start each day, not just a reminder to.

  • Confirmation she's doing the movement right, in the moment, not in next week's appointment.

  • Visible signs she's getting better, because six months in, she can't feel the difference herself.

What she does not need

  • Another tracking dashboard.

  • A streak counter that makes her feel guilty for missing two days.

Solution

Your daily rehab companion

Mini-games

Prescribed exercises mapped to everyday motions so the motion the therapist needs is the motion the game requires.

Exercise reports

Each session ends in a recap that shows small wins. It contains degrees of motion regained, sessions completed.

Therapist's prescription

Clinicians remotely adjust exercises and difficulty based on the patient's data, keeping care continuous between visits.

Key Insight

Therapy disguised as a familiar task.

Each mini-game maps a prescribed exercise onto a daily-life action (baking, gardening, ball games). The motion the therapist needs the patient to perform is the same motion that progresses the game. Difficulty scales with the patient's data, so the baking game tightens or loosens with recovery without the patient noticing they've been leveled up.

Key Feature

Why a Baking Theme Mini-Game?

In interviews, patients kept naming what they wanted back, such as making coffee, gardening, baking with their kids. The repetition they wanted was the kind embedded in daily life. So we built the game around motions their body already used knew.

User flow

Five steps from open to recap.

The user flow includes: checking daily goals, choosing a game, watching the tutorial, training through mini-games, and reviewing the report.

User journey map

Where motivation rises and drops.

Mapping the patient experience across one session and across a recovery month surfaced the moments when motivation typically dips (entering tired, hesitating before unfamiliar movements). We placed feedback exactly at those drop points: encouragement during setup, mid-game cues that reward correct form, and weekly summaries that make slow gains visible.

User journey map

Where motivation rises and drops.

Mapping the patient experience across one session and across a recovery month surfaced the moments when motivation typically dips (entering tired, hesitating before unfamiliar movements). We placed feedback exactly at those drop points: encouragement during setup, mid-game cues that reward correct form, and weekly summaries that make slow gains visible.

System Map

The therapist writes and the camera reads.

1. Digital Section The therapist sends a prescription so tracking info flows back after each session, shaping what the patient sees next. 2. Physical Section Visual and audio content guides the patient on the tablet screen, while the TrueDepth camera reads their motion data in real time.

System Map

The therapist writes and the camera reads.

1. Digital Section The therapist sends a prescription so tracking info flows back after each session, shaping what the patient sees next. 2. Physical Section Visual and audio content guides the patient on the tablet screen, while the TrueDepth camera reads their motion data in real time.

Wireframe

Sketching what the patient sees first.

I sketched each screen to lock the flow before committing to a visual language. Lo-fi let me focus on hierarchy and pacing. I structured how much patients see at the start of a session, how voice prompts replace touch input during exercises, and how progress surfaces without competing with the next action.

Wireframe

Sketching what the patient sees first.

I sketched each screen to lock the flow before committing to a visual language. Lo-fi let me focus on hierarchy and pacing. I structured how much patients see at the start of a session, how voice prompts replace touch input during exercises, and how progress surfaces without competing with the next action.

Design iteration

Sketching what the patient sees first.

I sketched each screen to lock the flow before committing to a visual language. Lo-fi let me focus on hierarchy and pacing. I structured how much patients see at the start of a session, how voice prompts replace touch input during exercises, and how progress surfaces without competing with the next action.

Design iteration

Sketching what the patient sees first.

I sketched each screen to lock the flow before committing to a visual language. Lo-fi let me focus on hierarchy and pacing. I structured how much patients see at the start of a session, how voice prompts replace touch input during exercises, and how progress surfaces without competing with the next action.

Visual Tone

Clinical confidence with playful moments.

Most rehab tools borrow the sterile language of medical software. Reeha goes the other way. A muted palette and rounded typography let the interface feel like a joyful. The characters function as a non-clinical presence in moments where patients might otherwise feel observed. Soft volumes, headbands instead of medical accessories, no measuring devices in hand.

Visual Tone

Clinical confidence with playful moments.

Most rehab tools borrow the sterile language of medical software. Reeha goes the other way. A muted palette and rounded typography let the interface feel like a joyful. The characters function as a non-clinical presence in moments where patients might otherwise feel observed. Soft volumes, headbands instead of medical accessories, no measuring devices in hand.

Prototyping

Engineering the loop.

We mapped the entire game loop to joint-node tracking. All the cupcake states are functions of where the patient's shoulder, elbow, and wrist sit relative to a calibrated threshold range. Pull down within range, frosting flows. Push up smoothly, next cupcake. Step outside the range, the piping fails.

Prototyping

Engineering the loop.

We mapped the entire game loop to joint-node tracking. All the cupcake states are functions of where the patient's shoulder, elbow, and wrist sit relative to a calibrated threshold range. Pull down within range, frosting flows. Push up smoothly, next cupcake. Step outside the range, the piping fails.

Demo session

What we learned showing Reeha live.

We exhibited a working prototype at the CMU Design Week. Watching first-time users move through setup, the tutorial, and a full mini-game session surfaced moments we'd missed in screen-only testing: camera placing confusion. Movement-based interfaces have a one-second window.

Paper · Coursework

Gamified Upper-Limb Recovery Through Sensor-Enhanced Exercises.

A pictorial-style writeup of the Reeha project, produced as coursework at CMU MDes (Fall 2025). The paper explores the research framing and system architecture in academic format. "How might we make home rehabilitation for upper limb recovery more engaging so patients stay motivated throughout recovery?" — from the research framing.

Read the full paper (PDF)

Special

Thanks to

Technical Advisor: Shemona Singh User interview: Terry Oh, Sophia Wu, Daniel Wu, Timothy Tang, Erik Benson, Eric Hsieh, Kristen Song, John Lee Expert interview: Anne Marie Sweeney OT, Jared Todorowski PT, Justin Berthold DO, Lindsay Lehman PT Professors: Andrew Twigg, Stacie Rohrbach

Go to the Final Design