Muriel De Boeck

• Master of Science
• PhD Student at University of Antwerp

Validation of a design method is essential to ensure its usefulness, thereby enhancing the success of design projects and the impact of design research. This paper presents a newly developed design method for human augmentation (DMHA) and the validation thereof. The DMHA was developed to introduce the rapidly emerging concept of human augmentation,...

Along with the growing impact of rapidly advancing technology on human life, interest in improving human abilities has increased. 'Human augmentation' refers to human-computer integration technology, aiming to restore, supplement, or even exceed human potential. As such, human augmentation may be used by anyone, ranging from people who face an impa...

Social augmentation refers to a human-computer integration technology that aims to enhance the user's social skills by supporting empathy, interaction and communication. This study investigated the implementation of social augmentation in hearing protection within the context of entertainment. Through a user-centred analysis, potential social augme...

Prior to wide adoption, a product must find social approval, which is especially true for near-body products as they are considered part of the human body. Based on a theoretical foundation, this study aims to provide an overview of methods to assess natural behaviour towards users of visible near-body products in uncontrolled environments, i.e. in...

Human augmentation is a thriving research field that aims to amplify human abilities through the development of technological improvements as an integral part of the human body. Human augmentation products may be made for anyone, ranging from healthy users wanting to enhance their human abilities to users who face temporary or permanent disabilitie...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens all over the world are largely adopting the use of face masks in public places to reduce potential transmission of the virus. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of a mask on the perception of facial attractiveness. Through an online survey, 102 young respondents assessed the attractivene...

Medical care is one of the most important and urgent areas to obtain insights and a better understanding of the workflow of the caregivers using a human-centered approach, particularly in departments where caregivers’ activities are crucial to human lives, such as the intensive care unit (ICU). Within this paper, we used a combination of quantitati...

Chemotherapy-induced onycholysis is a severe form of nail toxicity, characterized by partial or complete detachment of the nail from the nail bed. This medical condition is caused by the presence of taxanes in the patient’s blood while undergoing chemotherapy and is observed in 0 to 44% of cancer patients. The taxanes limit rapid cell reproduction,...

Onycholysis is a form of nail toxicity where the nail detaches from the nail bed. This medical condition is reported to appear with up to 44% of the patients undergoing a taxanes based chemotherapy. Frozen gloves can be effective in preventing nail toxicity as they enable cold-induced vasoconstriction (CIVC), or reduction of blood flow, and therefo...

Keratitis, or an inflammation of the cornea, is a common eye disease in which a biopsy of the cornea is required to determine its underlying cause. Currently, no standardized tool is available for this purpose and corneal scrapings are performed with a scalpel or wide needle, frequently with inconclusive results as too little material is removed fo...

Along with a growing interest in experience-driven design, interest in measuring user experience has progressively increased. This study explores the use of EEG for empirical UX evaluation. A first experimental test was conducted to measure and understand the effect of sensory stimuli on the user experience. A first experimental test was carried ou...

Nail changes are a common side effect of systemic chemotherapy. Onycholysis is a severe form of nail toxicity in which the nail detaches from the nail bed. Cryotherapy can be effective in preventing chemotherapy induced nail changes as it enables cold-induced vasoconstriction (CIVC), or reduction of blood flow, and therefore limits the transport of...