Our Story
The development of H.A.T. is a testament to the power of collaboration. Our team brings together clinicians, patients, UX designers, and engineers, each contributing their expertise to create a tool that truly meets the needs of those it serves. Through an iterative co-design process, we have worked closely with healthcare professionals to ensure clinical relevance, engaged with patients to understand real-world challenges, and leveraged cutting-edge technology to craft an intuitive and effective solution. Our shared commitment to improving hand assessment and therapy outcomes drives us forward as we refine H.A.T. for broader accessibility and impact.
We created the product in Unity. You can access our open-source code here (Please note it is currently only accessible via Unity and requires an Ultraleap hand-tracking device): https://github.com/yukafakuy/HAT
Team Members
Sasha Portnova
PhD and an engineer on the H.A.T. development team, has applied her extensive experience with hand-tracking technology and interface development to bring this innovative tool to life. Passionate about the complexity of the human hand, Sasha is dedicated to leveraging engineering principles to create solutions that address clinical challenges. Her expertise in biomechanics and rehabilitation technology has been instrumental in shaping H.A.T. into an impactful assessment tool for both clinicians and patients.
Yuka Fan
Master’s student studying Human-Centered Design and Engineering at UW. UX designer on this team, responsible for interface design and user testing. Yuka is passionate about accessibility, yoga and Zelda game. She is a curious problem solver who loves collaboration and empowering others. Her favorite part of the design is understanding the user, working cross-functionally to solve complex problems and create the best solution for the users. Her design philosophy is rooted in accessibility, integrity, and empowerment.
Adria Robert Gonzalez
Adria is an occupational therapist specializing in upper-extremity rehabilitation, with clinical experience in traumatic hand therapy. He is currently pursuing a PhD in rehabilitation sciences, focusing on upper-extremity recovery in individuals with neurological injuries, such as stroke and spinal cord injury. Adria’s clinical expertise brings valuable insight to the project, contributing to discussions on clinical measures, clinician needs, and the barriers and facilitators of clinical adoption.
Emily Boeschoten
Emily is currently pursuing a master's degree in occupational therapy. Her background includes experience in neural engineering and user research, providing her with a strong foundation in technology and user-centered design. Since 2018, she has also been a hand therapy patient, giving her a unique firsthand perspective on clinical hand assessments. By combining her experience in technology, user, experience ,and the clinical applications of hand assessment tools, she plays a key role in ensuring that H.A.T. is accessible to a broader population.
