Michelle Yee | Product Designer

Transforming migraine management through AI wearables

This is a conceptual project created during my HCI masters program. We were tasked with creating an AI wearable targeting an area of our choice. This project included creating a physical prototype as well as a digital prototype. This project was largely inspired by my own migraines and wishing I had a tool like this to help me day to day!

Role

Product Designer

Team

Solo project

Timeline

February – April 2025

Tool

Figma

Context

1 in 6 people in the U.S. get migraines [3]

What is a migraine?

A migraine is a neurological disorder that can cause extreme symptoms such as vomiting, vision disturbances, and heightened sensitivity to light and sound. Triggers vary from person to person, with stress, sleep, fasting, and auditory stimuli being the most common. [6]

Migraine management

Early therapeutic intervention has been shown to significantly reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms. Yet most migraineurs remain only vaguely aware of what triggers their attacks, and few have ever examined them in detail. [4]

Existing technology

Cefaly: Targets the trigeminal nerve to treat acute migraine attacks quickly and prevent future episodes [7]
Nerivio: Remote electrical neuromodulation armband that relieves migraines by activating natural pain pathways [8]

Problem

Migraine management can be diverse and complicated

a woman sitting in front of a laptop computer

Because migraines are so personal, any solution needs to understand how each person's body functions day to day. Research has shown that early intervention is key to migraine management, yet few accessible options exist on the market. This prompted me to ask:

How might we help adults with migraines understand their personal triggers and reduce attack frequency through an accessible AI wearable?

Solution

Mindful: a migraine management ring

To address this, I designed an AI wearable ring and companion app that monitors your vitals, learns your personal triggers, and guides you toward lifestyle changes that reduce the frequency and severity of migraine episodes.

👇 Scroll for the process!

Discovery

Creating a product that delivers desired outcomes

Jobs-to-be-done

To understand how an AI wearable could fit into migraineurs' lives, I mapped out their core jobs and related jobs to define the desired outcomes and work backwards from there.

Main findings

Manage and prevent migraines to reduce anxiety around daily disruptions
Identify personal triggers to feel more informed about their own body
Determine lifestyle changes that provide actionable next steps

Design

Finding the best physical form

Ring allows the most versatility

After sketching, a ring emerged as the best format to blend into daily life. Other formats were more overt and risked clashing with existing wearables like fitness bands or hearing aids.

Pros:

Comfortable all-day wear
Optimal vital tracking location
Discreet look

Rough and ready prototype

Sensors on the inside of the ring monitor vital signs. Other factors such as weather, noise levels, and light levels are monitored by an accompanying phone app

AI-driven technology will provide:

Identification of migraine triggers
Actionable lifestyle change suggestions

“M” logo indicates bottom of the ring to allow proper finger placement

Creating the digital prototype

Style guide

For Mindful, I prioritized calming colors and easy-to-read typography.

Since users may be experiencing migraine symptoms while using the app, it was important that the visual design felt comfortable and accommodating.

Today
The home screen serves as a daily snapshot of how your body is doing, giving you the context you need to make informed decisions throughout the day.
Sections include:
General summary of how your body's doing
Summary of vitals monitored for triggers
Environmental factors summary such as weather and noise level
Health Insights
This screen acts as a hub for visualizing your migraine data over time, whether by day, week, or year, making it easier to spot patterns in your daily routine.
Sections include:
Migraine symptoms over time
Decriptions of your triggers
Vitals trends over time
Next Steps
This screen provides actionable next steps for addressing and preventing migraines. Using data collected by the wearable, the app generates personalized suggestions for activities and lifestyle changes, supporting more informed, preventative care.
Sections include:
Breathing exercise to decrease or prevent migraine symptoms
General suggestions for lifestyle changes
Explanations for how changes will improve migraine health

Today
The home screen serves as a daily snapshot of how your body is doing, giving you the context you need to make informed decisions throughout the day.
Sections include:
General summary of how your body's doing
Summary of vitals monitored for triggers
Environmental factors summary such as weather and noise level
Health Insights
This screen acts as a hub for visualizing your migraine data over time, whether by day, week, or year, making it easier to spot patterns in your daily routine.
Sections include:
Migraine symptoms over time
Decriptions of your triggers
Vitals trends over time
Next Steps
This screen provides actionable next steps for addressing and preventing migraines. Using data collected by the wearable, the app generates personalized suggestions for activities and lifestyle changes, supporting more informed, preventative care.
Sections include:
Breathing exercise to decrease or prevent migraine symptoms
General suggestions for lifestyle changes
Explanations for how changes will improve migraine health

Today
The home screen serves as a daily snapshot of how your body is doing, giving you the context you need to make informed decisions throughout the day.
Sections include:
General summary of how your body's doing
Summary of vitals monitored for triggers
Environmental factors summary such as weather and noise level
Health Insights
This screen acts as a hub for visualizing your migraine data over time, whether by day, week, or year, making it easier to spot patterns in your daily routine.
Sections include:
Migraine symptoms over time
Decriptions of your triggers
Vitals trends over time
Next Steps
This screen provides actionable next steps for addressing and preventing migraines. Using data collected by the wearable, the app generates personalized suggestions for activities and lifestyle changes, supporting more informed, preventative care.
Sections include:
Breathing exercise to decrease or prevent migraine symptoms
General suggestions for lifestyle changes
Explanations for how changes will improve migraine health

Final Solution

A typical day using Mindful

This Wizard of Oz video walks you through Mindful's product features and shows you how it is used throughout the day.

👉 Try it out for yourself here

Takeaways

Lessons I learned

This was a fun opportunity to think about how AI can mesh with physical and digital products to solve problems that I struggle with in my daily life!

Two key lessons that stood out:

📐 Embrace new angles. This was my first time creating a Wizard of Oz video and it was a daunting experience. Exploring new methods and angles pushed me to expand my creativity, gain fresh perspective, and reminded me to stay open to trying new approaches.

🏠 Consider things holistically. This was my first experience incorporating a physical product alongside a digital prototype. Thinking about how the two would complement each other was a good reminder to consider how all components shape the holistic experience.

Sources

[1] Buse, D. C., Rupnow, M. F., & Lipton, R. B. (2009, May). Assessing and managing all aspects of migraine: migraine attacks, migraine-related functional impairment, common comorbidities, and quality of life. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 84, No. 5, pp. 422-435). Elsevier [2] Cerda, I. H., Zhang, E., Dominguez, M., Ahmed, M., Lang, M., Ashina, S., ... & Fonseca, A. C. (2024). Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in Headache Disorder Diagnosis, Classification, and Management. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 1-12. [3] Peters, G. L. (2019). Migraine overview and summary of current and emerging treatment options. Am J Manag Care, 25(2 Suppl), S23-S34. [4] Peroutka, S. J. (2014). What turns on a migraine? A systematic review of migraine precipitating factors. Current pain and headache reports, 18(10), 454. [5] Ruiz de Velasco, I., Gonzalez, N., Etxeberria, Y., & Garcia-Monco, J. C. (2003). Quality of life in migraine patients: a qualitative study. Cephalalgia, 23(9), 892-900. [6] Silberstein, S. D. (1995). Migraine symptoms: Results of a survey of self‐reported migraineurs. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 35(7), 387-396. [7] Why try cefaly?. Non-Prescription FDA Cleared Drug Free Migraine Treatment. (n.d.). https://www.cefaly.com/?sscid=a1k8_1hd0la&utm_source=shareasale&gad_source=1 [8] Your complete migraine care - treat & prevent Migraine - Nerivio®. Nerivio. (2024, June 20). https://nerivio.com/