Library
Repository Home account_circle Login

StemSense

A Tangible Toolkit for Pediatric Stem Cell Conversations

Master Thesis (2026)
Author(s)

C.H. van Kats (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)

Contributor(s)

A. Albayrak – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)

W. Schermer – Mentor (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)

Marjon H. Cnossen – Mentor (Erasmus MC)

Gertjan Lugthart – Mentor (Willem-Alexander Children's Hospital)

Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering
More Info
expand_more
Publication Year
2026
Language
English
Graduation Date
08-05-2026
Awarding Institution
Delft University of Technology
Programme
Integrated Product Design, Medisign
Sponsors
Sophia Children’s Hospital , Willem-Alexander Children's Hospital
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering
Downloads counter
77
Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Abstract

Shared decision-making on pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) requires patient families to choose whether or not their child should undergo a life-altering, possibly fatal, treatment. To understand HSCT and the decision, they are informed by hours of complex consultations with healthcare professionals (HCPs). In practice, it is seen that creating understanding is difficult. HCPs struggle with fostering understanding of the content, and patient families face a range of factors that further complicate their information uptake, such as information overload, clinician-framed communication, linguistic reliance, and emotional burden. This project explores the opportunity of using human-centred design to connect HCPs and patients within conversations on life-altering treatments and presents StemSense as a design solution. 

StemSense is a tangible toolkit that supports a redesigned consultation story. The product uses 3D components to represent the patient journey (treatment tiles), the impacts of treatment (main character figures), and the base medical mechanisms (cells). It makes HSCT tangible and graspable, and fosters shared understanding between healthcare professionals and the patient’s family. 

StemSense offers:
1. Summary of essential consultation content into a ‘big picture.’
2. Visualization through universal symbolism that supports understanding.
3. Overview of what has been discussed, for referring back to and asking questions.
4. Structure by design to convert treatment information into a cohesive story.
5. Opportunity for the HCP to maintain momentum and gradually reveal content to avoid overwhelming.
6. Telling the consultation from the perspective of the patients' families:
    a. enabling consistency independent of the HCP’s area of expertise.
    b. connecting to the patient's family mental model.
    c. creating space for addressing emotions and impact.
7. Tangible tools that enable interaction between the HCP, the patient, the parent, and the consultation content beyond verbally informing.
8. Adaptability for explaining a range of HSCT-indicating diseases.

This project explores how we can rethink healthcare conversations and approach them through human-centred design to better connect those who tell healthcare stories with those who need to understand, consider, and undergo the care path.

Files

Thesis_StemSense_CharlottevanK... (pdf)
(pdf | 163 Mb)
License info not available
Use_demonstration_video_StemSe... (mp4)
(mp4 | 364 Mb)
License info not available
Appendix_StemSense_Charlotteva... (pdf)
(pdf | 98.2 Mb)
License info not available