Shipped the first FDA-authorized digital therapeutic that reduced migraine episodes for 500+ patients
Overview
Designed an efficacious digital medicine with an uncenventional process
On 2022, Click Therapeutics kicked off the self-funded CT-132 project to build the first evidence-based digital therapeutic for migraine.
As one of the founding designers, I took initiative on hypothesis-driven research and end-to-end design for core features, working alongside our Design Lead, Vanessa Jimenez, as well as my science, product, and engineering counterparts.
With a successful clinical trial that reduced migraine days for 500+ patients, the CT-132 app received FDA authorization in 2024 and became a huge milestone for patients and the industry.
Get daily therapeutic lessons
Clinically proven therapeutic exercises such as muscle relaxation for migraine prevention
Self-tracking on medication intake and migraine episodes
Build up healthy habits to reduce migraine symptoms and improve quality of life
The Challenge
Not a typical health app story. It's agile, fast-paced, and propelling us to be creative.
🎯 The Problem
Migraine affects 1+ billion people globally, but existing products lack clinical impact and fail to address daily patient challenges outside symptom tracking.
🔒 The Constraint
Tight clinical trial deadlines meant traditional research cycles weren't an option. Regulatory constraints prevented us from testing therapeutic elements with real patients.
🏆 The Stakes
Prove that software can deliver measurable health outcomes under FDA scrutiny, and meet non-negotiable clinical trial deadlines that determine the company's outlook.
Our Process
Translate clinical requirements into an efficacious digital experience
Clinical Foundation
We started with diving into clinical guidelines and evidence-based treatment protocols. Our clinical team provided the scientific foundation that would drive measurable health outcomes.
Product Strategy
We translated clinical requirements into product features and user flows. This involved creating a "micro-dosing" engagement philosophy and designing flexible templates that could adapt to evolving clinical content.
UX Design Execution
Finally, we executed on the UX design through hypothesis-driven testing. We created three distinct app concepts to understand what type of experience would resonate with migraine patients, then refined based on real user feedback.
Research Under Pressure: Hypothesis-Driven Design
We created three distinct app concepts and put them in front of users to get actionable insights.
While features and content were locked in, we needed to discover what type of app experience would resonate with migraine patients.
We created three concepts that balanced visual style, tone, and narrative differently to test what would feel supportive vs. overwhelming.
Concept 1: Clinical & Trustworthy Healthcare App
Concept 2: Minimalist Migraine Toolkit
Concept 3: Your Migraine Companion
Highlights of the research Insights
Human touch in the experience. Make daily engagement effortless. And provide flexibility in content consumption.
Use human character to reinforce the narrative and make the experience both clinically effective and user-friendly
We simplified the UI while using richer visuals to help patients focus on important tasks, even during brain fog.
Patients need flexibility in how they consume content—some days text works, other days only audio is tolerable.
Real-world Impact
The first FDA-authorized, self-funded digital therapeutic that reduced migraine days for 500+ patients with thoughtful, user-centered design
Real patient outcomes driven by design
Proved digital therapeutics can be both clinically effective and user-friendly.
Brought recognition and business growth
Showcased design capabilities that attracted partnership inquiries and new opportunities.
Set benchmark for the industry
First to prove user-centered design can meet FDA regulatory requirements.
Our CEO thinks we're killing it
My Takeaway
• Be adaptive. There are many ways to achieve great design. Choose the design approach that can provide the most actionable insights under the constraints.
• Design is about communication. Designers should help the team connect the dots and be more effective.
• Be comfortable with managing unknowns and constant reprioritization, especially when things are moving in parallel.