Oncology Software / Hardware Design

Challenge

Remove hardware and software boundaries for Pathologists so they may diagnose cancer patients ASAP!

Business Needs

    1. Increase Pathology sign-out completion rates
    2. Retire high maintenance, legacy applications
    3. Expand the reach of Memoral Sloan Kettering (MSK)

User Concerns

    1. Need to be on-site to complete urgent diagnoses
    2. Switching between apps causes context fatigue
    3. Cannot maintain an optimal environment across terminals
Attending clinicians need disparate 5 apps to complete a sign-out Easy to read dashboard and work space eliminates context switching and need for multiple logins

Solution

Retire desktop programs, improve the UI and merge functionality into a web app for a true Digital Pathology!

Introduction

The journey of a cancer patient often begins with a diagnosis, traditionally conducted by pathologists examining tissue samples embedded in glass slides under a microscope. This project aimed to transform that process by building a digital infrastructure that enables diagnosis using scanned images of glass slides.

I remember the day I was assigned to the Research Platform. John Philip, a 30-year veteran of MSK, research scientist, and software developer, onboarded me into Digital Pathology. He ended his introduction with a simple yet audacious statement: “Basically, we need to retire the microscope.”

 

 

 
One of MSK’s Histology Labs
(click images for closer views 😉

Design Example

Hundreds of design decisions were made throughout the process. Since, the Double Diamond flow below can’t capture these micro-details, I’ve extracted a simple one that covers how these are derived.

The takeaway from the example below is: Often design decisions that make a difference are not simple graphical elements; but, understanding human intentions and behaviors that will lead you to unexpected, and robust solutions.

 

In user interviews while reviewing CoPath, the existing application we were to replace, I noticed that the users would keep the window size of the app consistent.

The researchers spent alot of time arrange multiple application across several monitors.

When asked about the size, I was shown that the applictions, built in the early “aughts”, wasn’t what we would call responsive. And while you could expand the window infinitely, the primary touch points were static – locked in a specific place and dimension.

In all of my design review sketches, I could see that the app real estate was restrictive.  My design sketches are peppered with comments  about better use of space.

Reviewing the research, I could see how frustrated all the researchers were in not only logging into applications – but arranging them in the perfect way.

This dynamic was exacerbated when a clinician had to work at a remote terminal. I witnessed a senior pathologist take 20 mins to find a login link to an application she used daily from an email sent three years prior on her phone.

Ultimately, I made the bold decision to extend our designs to not just replace CoPath, but to integrate the 5 disparate applications as well.

After reviewing the APIs with the dev team, we found that this was easier than expected – and would elimninate dozens for pain points.

My designs were to make the application less form like and more native – resulting in tool bars, contextual panels, and integrated work states.

When shown the first rounds of designs, the pathologists loved it – and sighed with relief that everything they needed was at their fingertips.