We report on design-focused inquiry into future multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare; including a multi-stage design process with experienced MS clinicians, and formative evaluations with people living with MS. MS is a chronic, progressive, and unpredictable inflammatory neurological disease of the central nervous system that affects at least 2.8 million people worldwide. Walking impairments affect up to 85% of people diagnosed with MS. Responding to this, our focus is on design for longitudinally monitoring mobility, and in particular using wearable sensors that generate data on gait metrics to support clinical and self-care decision-making. We contribute to HCI research in three ways: (1) a detailed case study design process, including artifacts; (2) metaphorical framing concepts, with associated use cases illustrated through design scenarios; and (3) understanding of virtual-first practices in rehabilitation medicine that can be translated beyond MS care.

Walking impairment is a debilitating symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease affecting 2.8 million people worldwide. While clinicians’ in-person observational gait assessments are important, research suggests that data from wearable sensors can indicate early onset of gait impairment, track patients’ responses to treatment, and support remote and longitudinal assessment. We present an inquiry into supporting the transition from research to clinical practice. Co-design by HCI, biomedical, neurology and rehabilitation researchers resulted in a data-rich interface prototype for augmented gait analysis based on visualized sensor data. We used this as a prompt in interviews with ten experienced clinicians from a range of MS rehabilitation roles. We find that clinicians value quantitative sensor data within a whole patient narrative, to help track specific rehabilitation goals, but identify a tension between grasping critical information quickly and more detailed understanding. Based on the findings we make design recommendations for data-rich remote rehabilitation interfaces.