Gates Foundation | Kampala and Seattle

Note: This project was completed between 2010–2012, during my early years as a designer and researcher. I include it here for its global health relevance and design complexity.

Conducting fieldwork in Uganda with a midwife

Goal

To develop the UI of an ultrasound device for midwives in low-resource regions, ensuring they could perform scans confidently and accurately while reducing cognitive load during critical tasks.

My role

I was a UX designer and researcher, conducting field research and contextual inquiries in Uganda to observe midwives' workflows in real-world settings. I collaborated closely with another designer, developers and medical experts.

Impact

The UI reduced cognitive load, enabling midwives to perform scans more efficiently and accurately. Usability testing showed improved task completion, increased confidence, and positive feedback. The project also enabled broader discussions on affordable ultrasound technology for low-resource environments.

Problem

Ultrasound is a safe and effective way to identify pregnancy complications. Unfortunately, ultrasound technology is scarce because of the high cost of the technology.

From 2010 to 2012, I researched and designed for a portable, low cost portable ultrasound device to help decrease maternal death rates in rural Uganda.

Research methods

Contextual inquiries with radiologists in Seattle hospitals
Interviews with Ugandan mothers to understand their experiences with prenatal care and ultrasound screenings
Surveys sent to Ugandan midwives for feedback as the prototype progressed

What we built

Based on research, we built a simplified ultrasound application that utilized an Interson USB probe attached to a netbook. We iterated until radiologists, sonographers, and midwives both in the U.S. and Uganda verified that the device could successfully diagnose the three most common complications.

The device cost was $3,500 using a modular off-the-shelf approach rather than an all-in-one system. We also added an integrated contextual help feature that helped supplement the limited sonography training received by the midwives, helping to answer diagnostic questions when a radiologist isn't available.

Help topics for midwives living and working in remote regions

Helping midwives better understand the concept of ‘Gain’ as it specifically relates to the use of ultrasound technology

Output and impact

I co-authored three academic papers:

W. Brunette; W. Gerard; M. Hicks; A. Hope; R. Anderson; G. Borriello; B. Kolko; R. Nathan. "Portable Antenatal Ultrasound Platform for Village Midwives." ACM Computing for Development (DEV), December 2010.
A. Hope; M. Hicks; W. Gerard; P. Prasad; K. Saville; W. Brunette; L. Ham; J. Keh; R. Anderson; G. Borriello; B. Kolko; R. Nathan. "Designing an Intelligent Medical Assistant for Diagnostic Ultrasound." International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI), February 2011.
W. Brunette; M. Hicks; A. Hope; G. Ruddy; R. Anderson; B. Kolko. "Reducing Maternal Mortality: An Ultrasound System for Village Midwives." IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), October 2011.

Our work broadened the conversation in the medical community about the needs for simplified lower cost medical technology. GE, Philips, and other medical device companies became aware of our work. In addition, our project advisor Beth Kolko started Shift Labs, a company focused on developing low cost medical technology.

For more about this work, please watch this TEDx presentation from Beth Kolko:

Designing Portable Ultrasound for Village Midwives