STUDENT HIGHLIGHT

Demystifying Congenital Heart Disease

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a physical heart defect that begins in the womb, impacting around 40,000 children born in the U.S. each year. Seeking to improve education for diagnosed children and their families, Drs. Amr El-Bokl and Gurumurthy Hiremath (UMN Medical School) partnered with the Product Design Program. They collaborated with undergraduate student Levi Skelton and Assistant Professor Carlye Lauff to create Octo, a toy octopus designed with a removable, 3D-printed heart to help teach children about CHD and ease parental stress.

Read more about the collaboration at z.umn.edu/DemystifyingCHD.

think designers have a lot to bring to the medical field, especially for children. I think as UX design gets more popular, it will contribute the most to hospitals because the user experience is a top priority.”