Project Overview

Our client’s group is conducting a research study using recorded relaxation, distraction, and imagery exercises to help patients with cancer manage symptoms including pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Research indicates that these strategies can help patients to achieve a personal sense of control over symptoms and diminish their severity. In today’s busy cancer care settings, there is not sufficient staff or time to provide these symptom managements strategies precisely when and where patients need them. Their team has developed an intervention using recorded strategies, delivered on an MP3 player, so that patients can carry them throughout their day, and use the interventions whenever their symptoms become bothersome. For example, a woman with advanced ovarian cancer may use an imagery exercise to help control pain that occurs after walking, or a relaxation exercise to facilitate return to sleep, if she wakes with worries in the middle of the night. Because cancer is a disease associated with aging, many patients are elderly and are not familiar with common MP3 devices. Moreover, the elderly may have difficulty visualizing the small display screens / text and have fine motor limitations that interfere with operating small controls. In a recent feasibility study done by our client’s group, older cancer patients said that they enjoyed learning to use the MP3 player and listening to the recordings, but struggled with managing controls (on / off / hold), and navigating between recordings and menus. Our goal is to develop an MP3 player that will be more user-friendly for these older patients. Other characteristics might also be built into the system including (1) the ability to monitor treatment ‘dose’ by logging specific recordings played, length of time they were played, and frequency of plays; and (2) the ability to enter and record numeric symptom severity ratings on the device before and after listening to each recording.

Files

• Product Design Specifications (October 22, 2008)
• Mid-semester Presentation (October 22, 2008)
• Mid-semester Report (November 13, 2008)
• Semester Poster Presentation (December 11, 2008)
• Final Report (December 11, 2008)

Contact Information

Team Members

• Joseph Labuz - Co-Team Leader
• Mike Conrardy - Co-Team Leader
• Derek Klavas - Communicator
• Joel Webb - BSAC
• Jonathan Mantes - BWIG

Advisor and Client

• Prof. John Webster - Advisor
• Kristine Kwekkeboom - Client