System Design · Healthcare Case Study

From Ecosystem to Experience

Designing a personalized, connected care experience for people living with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

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My Role

UX & System Design, Research, Service & Interaction Design

Timeline

2026 · 8 weeks

Methods

Ecosystem Mapping, Journey Mapping, Systems Thinking

Domain

Healthcare · Sleep Health · AI

Overview

For people with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, care doesn't live in a single app or device — it's scattered across a CPAP machine, wearables, apps, clinicians and family. This project maps that whole ecosystem, then reframes it as a single, personalized experience: moving from a fragmented set of tools to one connected journey designed around the patient.

The Condition

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

OSA is a breathing disorder in which the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep. Breathing stops and starts through the night — fragmenting sleep and starving the body of oxygen. Many people live with it for years, mistaking the exhaustion for something else.

Add visual — what happens during an apnea event

Today's Standard of Care

Managing OSA with a CPAP machine

Most patients rely on a CPAP machine that pushes pressurized air into the throat to keep the airway open. It offers two core controls — air pressure and humidity — but delivers the same fixed prescription every night, to every patient, regardless of how their day or body actually felt.

Add visual — CPAP setup & controls

The Problem

A reactive system, scattered across disconnected tools

Patients juggle a CPAP machine, wearables, weighing scales, nutrition and fitness apps — none of which talk to each other. The care is generic and reactive: it responds to problems after a bad night instead of anticipating them, and poor sleep quietly feeds poor health in a loop CPAP alone never breaks.

Add visual — the poor-sleep / poor-health loop

Anne, 55, was diagnosed with OSA three years ago. She manages it diligently — CPAP every night, guided nutrition, weight management, yoga and meditation — and still wakes up exhausted.

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Background

Managing a primary chronic condition for several years, and diagnosed with OSA three years ago.

Struggles with OSA

Poor sleep, trouble waking, morning headaches and anxiety from low oxygen and sleep disruption. The wrong pressure or humidity makes treatment uncomfortable — air leaks, bloating and dryness.

How she manages today

CPAP every night · guided nutrition · weight management · yoga & meditation.

“I used to sleep sitting straight up for more than five years, thinking it was just because of my weight.”

The Diagnosis Journey

One journey, three very different chapters

Across diagnosis, Anne's needs and emotions shifted dramatically — from quiet confusion, to feeling overwhelmed, to managing a device she couldn't fully trust. Hover a stage to read what she was living through.

Stage 1 · Before diagnosis“I thought I just had bad sleep.”

Difficulty sleeping, needing to sit up to rest, waking early and frequent headaches — all while managing another chronic condition, with no idea the two were linked.

Stage 2 · When diagnosed“I'm not sure what would happen.”

The diagnosis felt heavy and complex. Anne was unsure whether CPAP would actually help, or how it would interact with the condition she was already treating.

Stage 3 · After diagnosis“When the machine fails, your condition suffers.”

CPAP improved her sleep, but mask leaks and pressure discomfort crept in — with no guidance when problems arose and no visibility into what was going wrong.

Add visual — Anne's emotional journey map (before / when / after diagnosis)

A Day in the Life

Where does the strain actually happen?

Mapping a full day and night surfaced the friction hiding in plain sight — across waking, working, eating and trying to sleep. Hover each phase to see how Anne feels and where it breaks down.

7:30–8:00 · Wake upGroggy

Couldn't sleep properly through the night. Wakes with headaches, feeling uneasy and unrested.

8:00–9:00 · Morning routineLow energy

Hard to work out and emotionally drained. Weight management is split across separate fitness and wearable apps.

9:00–10:00 · Breakfast & commuteHopeful

Manual calorie counting is frustrating and hard to keep up — unsure what's even worth tracking.

10:00–17:00 · Work hoursDrained

Easily tired with a strong urge to nap. Feels dehydrated; the hydration app never stuck.

18:00–22:00 · Dinner & familyFrustrated

Calorie tracking still feels frustrating, and hectic, stressful days lead to stress-eating.

22:00–22:30 · Bedtime prepAnxious

Stressed about sleep. The CPAP mask is already part of life — a wearable on top feels like too much. Ongoing mask maintenance.

22:30–7:30 · SleepRestless

Still can't sleep properly. Too much pressure dries out the mouth; too little makes breathing hard.

Add visual — A Day in the Life journey map (actions · emotions · touchpoints · painpoints)

Systems Mapping

Mapping the entire care ecosystem

I mapped every actor, device, data stream and relationship orbiting the patient — from CPAP, smart pillow and wearables to clinicians, family, insurance and the FDA — to understand the system as a whole and find where data could flow more freely.

Add visual — Experience Ecosystem Map

The Opportunity

From ecosystem to experience

Reading the map surfaced three shifts that turn a scattered set of devices into one connected experience designed around the patient. Hover each to explore.

Opportunity 01A smart pillow as a new touchpoint

A smart pillow adds a passive, comfortable sensing point — capturing position and rest without asking Anne to wear one more thing.

Opportunity 02Sleep score, straight from the CPAP

Reading the sleep score directly from the CPAP machine during sleep removes the burden of an extra wearable and meets her where she already is.

Opportunity 03Keep the data flowing around the user

Most signals already revolve around the patient. Connecting those flows turns scattered devices into one continuous, personalized picture.

The Outcome

One connected experience, designed around the patient.

By mapping the full ecosystem and a real day in Anne's life, the scattered set of tools resolves into a single, personalized care experience — proactive instead of reactive, and built around the person rather than the device.

System design case study · Created by Vidushi Bissa · 2026