Capstone Project
Partnerships
Capstone Project Partners in industry, government, non-profit, and academia are integral to developing our MS in Health Technology students.
Make an Impact on the Future of Healthcare
The Master of Science in Health Technology (MS-HT) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is an innovative one-year (12-month) master’s program that trains students to be human factors/UX professionals by combining human factors/UX training with engineering principles and design in the context of public health.
The program culminates in an intensive capstone project where students gain hands-on learning experience as well as exposure to solving real-world health technology problems. Students work with you, our Capstone Project Partners, to improve the design of technology that supports the health and well-being of individuals.
Benefits of Becoming a Capstone Project Partner
Meet new human factors/UX and health technology talent.
Add new perspective to your organization.
Shape future health technology professionals.
Mentoring opportunities for capstone supervisors.
Provide invaluable, one-of-a-kind experience to a student.
Advance organizational goals.
Capstone activities focus on human factors tasks and range from needs assessment and heuristic evaluation to UI design and AI, machine learning, and data analytics. Examples Include:
- Conducting a needs assessment to guide the design of an app that provides information about community events for a retirement community
- Collaborating with a startup to evaluate usability issues with a medical device, social robot, virtual reality exergame, or health app.
- Engaging with a faculty member on a grant to explore human factors design of health technologies.
- Assessing the usability of an augmented communication device for children with developmental disabilities.
Previous Capstone Projects
- Wearables, Robots, & Smart Environment
- Wearable devices to link seniors and family members
- Wearable-based intelligent app for personalized at-home exercise training in adults with Multiple Sclerosis
- Handsfree operation with assistive robot
- Designing a skilled nursing facility for older adults
- Software – Web, App, & System
- Mobile application to support care transitions
- Smartphone apps for tinnitus and hearing loss
- Co-design and optimization of a web portal for identifying adults in need of exercise support
- Care Partner Medication Education, Decision Support, Reminding and Monitoring (CaP-MedSRem) system
- Fall Prevention & Detection
- Model accelerometry data related to frailty, disability, falls
- Expert system for diagnosing falls risk in the home
- Implementing, evaluating, and optimizing fall prevention technologies in senior living
- Development and validation of a fall detection device for older adults who use wheelchairs or scooters
- Data Analytics & Modeling
- Voice Vision VItals (VVV): Data collection and treatment tracing for neuropsychiatric and voice disorders
- Building health communities through park equity modeling
- A needs analysis and solution proposal to address social isolation and enhance connectedness among older adults
- Visualizing geospatial indicators of community health in the Digital Exposure Report-Back Interface (DERBI)
- UIUX (User Interface / User Experience) & Human Factors
- Designing for disabilities: The human factors of battery technology for power assist devices
- User interface design for a soft and dexterous service robot to support healthcare of older adults at home
- Way finding assistance for persons with vision impairments: Subject matter expert insights
- Inclusive mHealth: Addressing graphical user interface challenges for low vision and blind users
Fall Semester Expectations & Timeline
Expectations
Develop a general idea of your capstone project and submit a Capstone Project Proposal.
When matched with a student, begin University of Illinois documentation.
Students will give a Capstone Kick-Off Presentation on their selected capstone project in December.
Timeline
August-October: Submit and finalize Capstone Project Proposal.
October-November: Pitch your capstone project to our students during a virtual HT 510 class meeting.
November: Students are matched with projects by the Capstone Committee.
December: Attend the virtual Capstone Kick-Off Presentation.
Spring Semester Expectations & Timeline
Expectations
Work with your student to finalize capstone project details for summer. Being intentional to being IRB, background research, recruitment strategies, etc. in the spring semester.
Meet with your student a minimum of 2-3 times from February to April.
Timeline
January-April: Students develop a Work Plan that includes a project literature review, IRB (if needed), and outlining recruitment strategies (if needed).
April/May: Your feedback is required on the work plan that is due at the end of the semester.
Summer Semester Expectations & Timeline
Expectations
Supervise a 10-week capstone experience that includes weekly check-ins, a midterm evaluation, and a final evaluation while also providing feedback on final deliverables (video script, poster, and technical report).
Attend the in-person Capstone Celebration event in early August.
Timeline
May-August: While the student’s final course is 12 weeks, students are required to spend the first 10 weeks executing the capstone project and the final 2 weeks finalizing their poster and technical report. Students are required to get your feedback on these materials before submitting them.
Capstone Project Presentations and Celebration
Ready to become a Capstone Project Partner? We look forward to hearing from you!
healthtech@illinois.edu