Sofia: The future vision of healing

Inspiration

When we started researching and finding stories of people with cancer. We were overwhelmed by all the subtle hurdles and issues that were unique to them. Like the anxieties of living from scan to scan, they even had a word for it "scanxiety." Or not even how the drugs can affect their bodies, but how isolating they can feel with their mood or insomnia. Our goal was to look at current and near-future technology that could solve emotional problems, not just physical.

What it does

Sofia in our minds is a platform. There's plenty of good content and information and ways of coping out there. Our intention is to blend it all together into a heuristic that matches each individual. A person who needs information will be directed to content creators in the same emotional space as that person. One of the cancer-related podcasts we listened to really stressed the importance of finding support groups and people that resonate with where you are. But also by learning behaviors of the person, Sofia can anticipate the needs and provide solutions with connected devices. It can be as simple as turning on a smart kettle, or making a playlist when they're wide awake and can't sleep. It isn't another an app, but a companion throughout their journey.

How we built it

We employed our design process of research and synthesis to formulate a future vision that's more near-term than long-term. We wanted to account for the key pain points we heard during our research.

Challenges we ran into

The hardest part was trying not to boil the ocean, and really focus on what technology could actually do with emotional health. The journey from detection to remission is too large, and yet we didn't want an experience that was only there for a slice of a person's life.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're really proud of shining a light on the emotional and mental hurdles that a person faces with cancer. Also, trying to be ambitious with a future vision but still grounding in things that exist.

What we learned

Honestly, a ton about the interior lives of what a person goes through with cancer. We knew about a surface level from the outside. But when we started hearing their stories, it opened up a whole world we didn't know about.