Humans rely on intuitive interactions with devices to manage health, and for individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, usability, comfort, and convenience are key drivers of consistent therapy. While our novel negative-pressure device shows promising therapeutic potential, participants face challenges with noise, setup, and other barriers common across existing treatments such as CPAP. This project uses semi-structured interviews to explore patient experiences across the full spectrum of OSA therapies, capturing motivations for seeking treatment, daily routines, perceived effectiveness, and key pain points. Responses are systematically analyzed to identify design opportunities, preferences, and trade-offs that influence long-term adherence. Insights from this holistic evaluation guide iterative improvements to device design, comfort, and usability, ultimately aiming to enhance patient experience, support consistent use, and inform broader strategies for human-centered sleep apnea therapies.

I am participating in SuperUROP to strengthen my skills in user-centered design and multi-modal research methods. By conducting structured interviews and analyzing participant feedback, I aim to identify key design challenges and develop practical improvements that enhance usability, comfort, and adherence. This experience will help me bridge engineering design with human-centered evaluation to create more effective technology.