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The University of Auckland, ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions, partnered with Maia Limited, a mental health innovation company, to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare: how to extend effective mental health treatment beyond the therapy room. With over 5,900 staff members and world-class researchers, the University brought clinical expertise, while Maia Limited provided the innovation focus to translate it into digital solutions.
Together, they envisioned Maia, a platform that could deliver therapy remotely while keeping patients actively engaged. We partnered with them to bring this vision to life, combining research insights with engineering excellence to create a secure, scalable, and patient-centered digital health solution.
Mental health treatment faces a unique challenge: patients often disengage between therapy sessions, limiting the effectiveness of interventions. For the University of Auckland and Maia Limited, success depended on building a system that would sustain interaction, support practitioners, and keep patients connected to their care plans.
The solution needed to deliver on three fronts: an engaging multi-platform experience, healthcare-grade compliance, and scalability for real-world clinical use. Designing such a system meant not only building robust software but also embedding the principles of human-centered care into every interaction.
We worked closely with researchers and clinicians to design features that keep patients engaged between sessions. Activity assignments, real-time progress tracking, and gamified rewards were integrated to create an experience that motivates patients while providing practitioners with valuable feedback loops.
For therapists, we built a responsive web portal to assign, monitor, and customize therapy activities. For patients, we developed iOS and Android companion apps that make it easy to complete tasks, track progress, and stay connected. Algorithms were embedded to deliver smart, data-driven insights, enabling practitioners to personalize treatment in real time.
Compliance and security were treated as non-negotiable. From the outset, the system was architected to meet New Zealand’s HISO standards, safeguarding sensitive medical data. Manual and automated QA processes ensured stability and reliability, while cloud-native engineering provided scalability for clinical environments. After just eight months of collaboration with the University’s medical and research teams, the first version of Maia went live.
We worked closely with researchers and clinicians to design features that keep patients engaged between sessions. Activity assignments, real-time progress tracking, and gamified rewards were integrated to create an experience that motivates patients while providing practitioners with valuable feedback loops.
For therapists, we built a responsive web portal to assign, monitor, and customize therapy activities. For patients, we developed iOS and Android companion apps that make it easy to complete tasks, track progress, and stay connected. Algorithms were embedded to deliver smart, data-driven insights, enabling practitioners to personalize treatment in real time.
Compliance and security were treated as non-negotiable. From the outset, the system was architected to meet New Zealand’s HISO standards, safeguarding sensitive medical data. Manual and automated QA processes ensured stability and reliability, while cloud-native engineering provided scalability for clinical environments. After just eight months of collaboration with the University’s medical and research teams, the first version of Maia went live.
Maia has transformed the way mental health treatment can be delivered remotely. Patients now remain engaged between therapy sessions, improving the continuity and effectiveness of care. Practitioners are empowered with real-time data and tools that enable more personalized and responsive treatment.
The platform’s compliance with HISO standards ensures trust and security, making it suitable for deployment across healthcare environments. With multi-platform access, therapy is no longer confined to in-person visits but is available anytime, anywhere through web and mobile applications.
Beyond clinical success, Maia has also been recognized for its design excellence, winning the Bronze Award for Best User Experience at the Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards. This achievement highlights how research, technology, and design can come together to redefine digital healthcare.