Yu Ma

Yu Ma is a wearable interaction designer who studies healthcare, trying to find and solve vulnerabilities in health management systems. She is dedicated to researching wearable devices for mental health support to transform negative emotions of individuals into positive stimuli under physiological reactions.

After joining the RCA, Yu further expanded her research scope of healthcare to focus on Interaction Design to promote physical and mental health. Focusing on user experience and using physical wearable devices and immersive virtual therapy as necessary conditions to stimulate cognitive abilities, Yu conducted numerous interviews and collaborations with clinical doctors to complete data sampling analysis and develop experimental solutions.

In this project, research on fine hand motor skills and virtual therapy was carried out to stimulate cognitive ability as the core of preventing elderly diseases.

The aging of society has become a global challenge. The common feature of disease in the elderly is a decrease in cognitive and physical control abilities. 

Based on the user needs of this target group, I interviewed multiple hand clinical researchers. Based on professional clinical recommendations, I selected some representative fine hand motor skills to combine with virtual reality games for dual cognitive stimulation in both physical and virtual settings.

I would like to thank the following research departments for accepting my interviews during the project period:

University of Oxford Rehabilitation Research Center

Imperial College Hand Therapy Research Department

University of Malaga, Faculty of Health Sciences 

Derby University Hospital Hand Therapy Research Department

International Medical Center