wrest5 min read

Preventing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with a Smart Mouse Pad

Wrest is a smart mouse pad and app designed to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome from excessive mouse use. Wrest uses wrist strain monitoring and teachers users wrist exercises

My Role: Sole UX/UI Designer

Project Duration: Jan 2021 - May 2023

Wrest came into life from my collaboration with my friend Vasil Kostin, a medicine student. Back in 2019, we participated in a health-tech-themed hackathon. We selected the challenge called Diseases of affluence, and during the 48-hour-long event, we identified this problem:

People who work with a computer mouse for many hours each day may have an increased risk of developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Our solution was to develop a smart mouse pad with pressure sensors, detect suboptimal hand positions and notify the user to correct their position or take a break. Notifications would come through an app, which would also be used to calibrate the device for each individual.

I took on the UX/UI Designer role and was also involved in product design as we developed a physical mouse pad.

Wrest smart mouse pad current design (2023)

Getting to know our users

After the hackathon ended, we were interested in the problem and decided to continue developing this idea. We gathered contacts and got in touch with some people who worked with a computer mouse and interviewed them, intending to get to know the problem and answer the following questions:

What are users' daily habits or problems when working on the computer?
Do computer users understand the risks associated with poor hand position when using a mouse
How do computer users deal with discomfort or pain when working for long periods of time?

After interviewing 15 participants, there were the most important findings:

Participants only search for information about occupational hygiene when they develop symptoms of wrist pain (but some do not search even when they start having pains)
Those working in companies mentioned OHS training for computer work, yet most did not follow recommended procedures and interventions before the onset of pain
Some participants who were students had never had training in proper sitting at a computer

Mapping out the experience

Designing a habit-forming experience

Researching ways to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused by excessive mouse usage, we concluded two main factors:

Take regular breaks
Exercise your wrist every day

So we designed the Wrest app to help our users take regular breaks and teach them exercises that would keep their wrists healthy.

Teaching users to exercise

We consulted licensed physiotherapists to create a set of exercises that promote healthy wrists and collaborated with motion designers, who created this exercise buddy avatar.

Designing the onboarding flow

Onboarding the user was critical for our product as the pressure sensors in the mouse pad required to be calibrated for every user due to different hand and mouse weights. And it was essential to instruct the user on proper sitting and hand position for the duration of the calibration process.

First prototype

This was the first version we showed to users, and they struggled with the instruction when they had to place the mouse on the mousepad but not their hand.

Second iteration

Better understood, but the 3D visualization could never match the user's environment.

Final design

Combining text and visual instructions enabled users to complete calibration on their first attempt. This also better fits with the rest of the app's design and establishes a visual language.

Onboarding flow prototype

Creating interactive prototypes in Figma allowed us to quickly test multiple flow versions with users and update copy and move UI as we found spots where users got stuck.

Hardware design

I also contributed to the development of the hardware for the mouse pad. I 3D modeled and 3D printed prototypes and chose a suitable fabric for the mouse pad top to ensure the mouse's comfort and ease of movement. I've been testing the mouse pad myself, and even after months of use and carrying it in my backpack, it is still in good condition and working.

Red Bull Basement

In November 2021, we were chosen as the national winners of Red Bull Basement in the Czech Republic and advanced to the global final, where we made it into the TOP 10 out of 4000 teams.

The mentorship we received during Red Bull Basement helped us to see our project from a different perspective. It was much more about how two parts of the process I knew (design and technology) interact with the third pillar of a successful product, the business.

Wrest at Red Bull Basement (photos by Kuba Zeman, Red Bull CZ)

State of the project as of January 2023

Designed & developed Windows/macOS app
30 mouse pads produced
14 exercises in the app
Wrest mouse pad + app tested by 10+ users