Collecting and presenting stress data to people with chronic pain
Bureau Moeilijke Dingen
In collaboration with Fontys
As part of a research consortium led by Fontys, I designed and developed a mobile app to support people living with chronic pain, often worsened or triggered by stress. The app complemented a wearable sensor that detected stress signals through physiological data. But we knew: data without context isn’t enough.
I led the design of a system where users could create a personal emotional and activity dataset, labeling their feelings using colors, custom tags, and personal language. Rather than selecting from predefined emotions like “happy” or “anxious,” users defined their own emotional landscape, reducing bias and listening to their individual experience.
This combination of the stress data and the patient annotations resulted in a rich dataset that could be used in conversations with physiotherapists. I combined insights from behavioral change research with full-stack development to deliver a mobile application with a strong focus on personalization.