Lightning Talk: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Project Maku aims at developing a wearable accompanying an app that enables at-home clinical trials. Together with men and boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, we researched how clinical trials should be designed to support them in the best possible way: By giving them a wearable that matches their identity and an app that gives them insight into the data during the clinical trial, helps them to manage the clinical trial planning as well as mitigate uncertainties of both the boy and their family.

Project Maku is a collaboration between wearable design studio Ann.ID, Yumen Bionics and ’samenwerkende spierfondsen’ and is partially funded by Creative Industries Fund NL.

Ann.ID is a small collaborative design studio lead by Anneke van Abbema. She has 10+ years of hands-on experience in wearable and softgoods design: from product development up to market roll-out mainly within the healthcare, wellbeing and sports domain. We focus on improving people’s life and performances, by designing – textile – products that closely interact with the human body.

Yumen Bionics develops wearables and assistive technology for people with muscle weaknesses in the arms, especially for people with Muscular Dystrophy. Yumen Bionics is founded by Duchenne Parent Project NL and therefore has a profound and lengthy collaboration with the Duchenne community.