Volunteers needed to test home monitoring app

Digital health company, OKKO Health, is calling for more volunteers to help test a new app which could revolutionise eye care for people living with macular disease.

OKKO Health is designing the app to allow people to monitor their vision from the comfort of their own home, reducing the burden on hospital eye care services.

Volunteers from the Macular Society have been involved in its development, testing its usability and accessibility.

Sally Von Hofsten, product owner at OKKO, said the volunteers had been integral to the development of the app.

She said: “Every new or improved feature of the app is sense-checked with our volunteers before implementation, to ensure usability and accessibility.

“Their feedback plays a huge role when we make all of our design decisions. 

“We also conduct feedback surveys and more in-depth interviews with our volunteers regularly, to better understand the needs and frustrations of those living with a macular disease, and to make sure that what we are building is right for them.”

The app allows patients to get insights into their condition in between clinic visits. In the app, patients can monitor their vision remotely through simple puzzle-games, log their symptoms, track their treatments and learn more about their condition.

Sally added: “It's not about replacing existing care, but about providing patients with more control of their situation and to help them make more informed health decisions.”

The company is looking for more volunteers, this time with experience with data, to test the app and provide crucial feedback before it is launched.

Sally said: “For us it is absolutely crucial to build our products together with the individuals that will use them. 

“Since the start, we have engaged with individuals with age-related macular degeneration or other types of macular disease, to better understand their needs and how we may help improve their quality of life.

“It's a given for us to include them throughout the entire design-process, to make sure we are doing the right thing for them."

What can I expect by signing up to trial the app?

Volunteers will be asked to:

• Measure their vision in the OKKO Health app three times per week
• Report on any barriers they are experiencing in the app, and share thoughts on how it can be improved considering usability, accessibility or missing features. 
• Potentially take part in focus groups, interviews or other activities which may help us better understand the needs of individuals living with a macular condition.