Tactile emoticons: Conveying social emotions and intentions with manual and robotic tactile feedback during social media communications.

Touch offers important non-verbal possibilities for socioaffective communication. Yet most digital communications lack capabilities regarding exchanging affective tactile messages (tactile emoticons). Additionally, previous studies on tactile emoticons have not capitalised on knowledge about the affective effects of certain mechanoreceptors in the human skin, e.

Patient and practitioner perspectives on the design of a simulated affective touch device to reduce procedural anxiety associated with radiotherapy: a qualitative study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to elicit the views of relevant stakeholders on the design of a device using simulated affective touch to reduce procedural anxiety surrounding radiotherapy and imaging.

Design: This qualitative study collected data from focus groups which were then analysed using inductive thematic analysis in line with Braun and Clarke's methods.

Participants And Setting: Twenty patients and carers were recruited, as well as 10 healthcare practitioners involved in either delivering radiotherapy or imaging procedures.

Not as simple as "fear of the unknown": A qualitative study exploring anxiety in the radiotherapy department.

Objective: Little is understood about the anxiety experienced by cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy or investigative imaging. Our aim was to identify sources of anxiety, the points along the cancer journey where anxiety occurred and methods to alleviate it.

Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with cancer patients (n = 17), caregivers (n = 3) and healthcare practitioners (HCPs; n = 10) in the radiotherapy department.

The potential for haptic touch technology to supplement human empathetic touch during radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy for cancer is an effective treatment but requires precise delivery. Patients are required to remain still in the same position during procedure which may be uncomfortable. This combined with high anxiety experienced by patients, and feelings of isolation, have indicated a need for comfort interventions.