# Student Lara designs a tactile lollipop concept so blind women can read pregnancy tests

- Published: 2026-11-08 20:45 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: tactile pregnancy test concept, accessible health devices, blind users, lollipop-shaped prototype, tongue-readable textures, inclusive design, home test accessibility, design student project
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-d09c6aa56d0c0b0284b67cd3_student_lara_designs/

**A design student made a lollipop-shaped prototype with textures read by tongue. It is an interface concept only: it detects nothing, and no diagnostic method exists yet.**

![Student Lara designs a tactile lollipop concept so blind women can read pregnancy tests](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/3f50e26f6810cf95.jpg)
*catracalivre.com.br*

A design student named Lara has developed a concept for a small lollipop-shaped object that would give a result perceptible by the tongue, according to catracalivre.com.br. The idea came from a blind friend, who told her that the hardest part of a home pregnancy test is not using it but learning the result without asking someone to read the lines [1].

Lara spoke with women who use screen readers and objects with tactile markings. Their experiences with physical tests varied: some wanted privacy, others needed accessible instructions from the moment the package is opened [1]. She noted which steps depend on vision: identifying the correct side, timing the wait and interpreting the result [1].

## Tactile interface, not a test

The design has two flat sides with reliefs meant to be told apart by the tongue. Lara tested only inert texture models, with no diagnostic substances [1]. In a trial with clean pieces, a colleague confused two versions of the relief, so a difference that is clear to the fingers is not necessarily perceived the same way in the mouth [1].

The object does not detect anything. Most home tests use urine to detect a hormone associated with pregnancy, and Lara had imagined saliva only because of the shape [1]. She states that the work would need a suitable marker, detection limits, sensitivity and specificity studies, and a reliable way to turn a chemical result into texture [1].

## Open questions

A teacher suggested separating the reading problem from the biological sample problem. Lara is now considering tactile or audio outputs for tests that are already validated [1]. Privacy is a concern, since loud audio could reveal the result to people nearby, so the choice would be left to the user and checked with comprehension tests [1].

Participants asked how they would know that a test had failed and whether a relief would change with moisture or saliva [1]. Lara removed the phrase "independent result" from her poster and replaced it with "concept for exploring accessible forms of reading" [1]. She also began comparing tactile proposals, private audio and instructions compatible with screen readers [1].

She presented the model with a list of scientific and regulatory steps still required. No one received a product for home use, and the textures show a possible interface, not an exam that can confirm or exclude pregnancy [1]. During the presentation, an instruction that was hard to locate was corrected on the spot [1].

## Sources

1. [catracalivre.com.br](https://catracalivre.com.br/noticias/estudante-de-27-anos-percebe-que-mulheres-cegas-precisam-de-ajuda-para-ler-testes-de-gravidez-cria-conceito-de-pirulito-que-poderia-revelar-o-resultado-pelo-toque-da-lingua-e-comeca-a-desenvolver-tec)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-d09c6aa56d0c0b0284b67cd3_student_lara_designs/