An application developed to serve as a convenient tool for chronic kidney disease patients and their caregivers, focusing on personalized nutrition planning with a faster and more convenient approach to promote better health and quality of life.
Designed the end-to-end user experience, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes in Figma. Conducted user interviews and synthesized research findings into design decisions.
02
Frontend Developer
Developed the medication reminder (Pill) interface and integrated LINE notifications system using TypeScript and Tailwind CSS.
03
AI Developer
Developed and integrated AI features including meal plan generation and food analysis using Object Detection to identify ingredients or dishes for nutritional database comparison.
Project Overview
AI meal planning, food analysis, and medication support through LINE
KidneyCare is a LINE OA-based application built to address the complex nutritional challenges faced by chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The app integrates AI-powered meal planning, real-time food analysis, and medication reminders into a single platform that both patients and caregivers can access through LINE — a familiar, low-barrier channel.
Problem & Goals
The problem this project addresses and the outcome it aims to achieve
Problem
Kidney disease patients often face difficulty calculating and planning meals, as well as managing daily medication schedules. This increases the risk of complications when nutrition is not managed correctly.
Goals
Build a platform that helps calculate nutrition and create personalized meal plans, with medication reminders to improve quality of life for kidney disease patients.
User Research
Survey of 29 participants — 18 CKD patients and 11 caregivers
01
CKD Patients
18 participants
Q. What worries you most about managing your diet?
18 patients; multiple answers allowed.
55.6%
10 people Getting too much of a nutrient
50.0%
9 people Not knowing which foods are safe or how much to eat
Q. Do you have trouble choosing or preparing meals?
Follow-up to the 9 of 18 patients who answered yes; multiple answers allowed.
66.7%
6 people Repetitive meals or boring menus
44.4%
4 people Cannot think of a menu
44.4%
4 people Unsure whether a chosen food is safe
02
Caregivers
11 participants
Q. What makes planning meals for patients difficult?
11 caregivers; multiple answers allowed.
72.7%
8 people Calculating the patient's nutrient intake
63.6%
7 people Lacking knowledge of different minerals
Q. How do you find food information, and what gets in the way?
9 caregivers answered this set of questions; multiple answers allowed.
77.8%
7 people Look for more information online
77.8%
7 people Question the reliability of what they find
Pain Points
Five core pain points discovered from user research
01
Uncertainty About Food Choices
Many patients worry about consuming too much of a nutrient and are unsure which foods suit their condition or how much to eat. When several dietary restrictions must be considered together, patients and caregivers need to check more information before choosing ingredients for each meal.
02
Difficulty Planning Meals
Patients who struggle to choose or prepare food may run out of ideas and repeat the same meals, making long-term dietary management difficult and monotonous.
03
Difficulty Managing Nutrients
Caregivers must consider several nutrients, along with food portions and ingredients. Calculating and planning each meal takes considerable time and knowledge.
04
Uncertainty About Information
Caregivers may search online for more information, but conflicting sources can leave them unsure whether the advice is accurate and suitable for the patient.
05
Forgetting to Take Medication
Patients taking several medicines or doses at different times may get confused or miss a dose without a clear reminder or schedule.
User Personas
Two representative profiles from the project’s design materials
Somchai
CKD Patient
A patient who needs confidence choosing food
“I don’t want things to get any harder, so I need to manage my diet carefully.”
Somchai is living with stage 5 chronic kidney disease and other health conditions, including high blood pressure and gout. He wants to improve his quality of life by taking care with the food he eats.
Age
60
Occupation
Retired
Know which foods suit him
Understand suitable portions
Rachata
Caregiver
A caregiver who needs meal planning to feel manageable
“I don’t know how to plan meals for my mother, who has kidney disease.”
Rachata works at a company and helps care for his mother, who has kidney disease. He buys ingredients, prepares meals, and balances these tasks with work, so planning meals can be difficult.
Age
42
Occupation
Company employee
Plan varied meals for his mother
Make meal preparation easier
User Journey
A caregiver’s path from uncertainty about food choices to planning daily meals.
Scenario: Rachata is planning meals for his mother, who has kidney disease.
Stage
01Awareness
02Exploration
03Planning
04Daily Use
Action
Realizes his mother needs meals suited to her condition.
Searches for a way to plan suitable meals.
Enters dietary information to create a meal plan.
Reviews the suggested meals and follows the plan.
Feeling
Worried
Confused
Frustrated
Reassured
Pain Point
Unsure which foods are safe.
Struggles to choose a reliable tool.
There is a lot of information to enter.
Needs confidence in each meal choice.
Scroll horizontally to view every stage.
Key Features
Five core capabilities designed around real patient needs
Meal Planning
Use AI to generate personalized meal plans for each day or week, tailored to individual dietary needs.
AI Chatbot
Consult about food, health, and nutrition with an AI Chatbot available around the clock.
Food Photo Analysis
Snap a photo of your meal and AI instantly breaks down the nutrition — calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
Nutrition Search
Search nutritional data for any dish to help choose the healthiest menu options.
Medication Reminder
Set daily medication alerts so you never miss a dose and stay on top of your health routine.
Competitive Audit
Comparing KidneyCare against existing kidney health apps
Feature
KidneyCare
KidneyDiet
CKD Rak Tai
Hello Kidney
Meal Planning System
Nutritional Info per Menu
AI Chatbot
Medication Reminder
User Flow
Two primary user journeys designed for patients and caregivers
Meal Planning Flow
The user selects their CKD stage and dietary preferences, then the AI generates a weekly meal plan. Each meal can be swapped or adjusted, and the plan is saved to the daily schedule.
Loading flowchart…
Nutrition Search Flow
The user searches for a specific dish by name or photo. The system returns a full nutritional breakdown and flags any minerals that exceed the recommended daily limit for CKD patients.
Loading flowchart…
Redesign UX
Add Medicine Flow
Before
The original flow split the add-medicine process across three separate screens — medicine info, scheduled times, and duration.
After
After an internal team discussion, we consolidated everything into a single screen.
Medication reminders are a secondary feature. The multi-step structure placed too much effort on a non-core task, pulling focus away from the app's primary functions.
Fewer screens reduce cognitive load for older users and lower the risk of dropping off before the setup is fully saved.
Usability Testing
Results from real users — scored 1–10 per task (9 users)
Testing Tasks
Mean Score
Register
Register and complete personal health profile
8.6
Meal Planning
Generate and adjust weekly meal plans
6.8
Nutrition Search
Search for nutritional info via text or photo
8.4
Medication Reminder
Set up medication schedules and alerts
3.4
Eating History
Review past nutritional intake and trends
8.6
Overall Average
7.16
UI Refinement and Development
UI improvements applied after usability testing feedback
Meal Planning — Day Overview
After the AI generated a meal plan, the original UI displayed every meal for every day all at once. With a 30-day plan this became an extremely long list that was hard to navigate and edit. We restructured it to show a collapsed day-by-day view first — users tap into a specific day to view or adjust meals.
Before
Organizing daily meal lists felt cluttered and overwhelming — it was hard to know where to look.
After
Daily meal lists are now easy to read and manage at a glance.
Medication Reminder — Grouped Status
The original view showed all medicines in a single flat list, making it difficult for users to tell at a glance which medicines still needed to be taken and which had already been completed. We split the list into two clear sections — medicines to take and medicines already taken — so users can see their status immediately.
Before
Tapping each medicine felt more like editing than actually logging that I had taken it.
After
It's now clearly visible which medicines have been taken and which still need to be taken.
