User-centred Research-based Design of Futuristic Intensive Care Units

This paper discusses ergonomics and user-centred design approaches in health-services environments, specifically Intensive Care Units in Hospitals, through a design research project developed with Industrial Design master’s students. Initially, a review of the literature shows current approaches to ICU design, mainly from an architectural perspective. Current and futuristic visions for ICU spaces are illustrated through examples from architecture and science fiction movies. The concept of ‘very large scale integration’ within digital technologies is also discussed, as a basis for possible design directions. Subsequently, field work through user-observations, surveys and unstructured interviews of patients, family, and healthcare workers (mainly nurses and medical doctors) carried on at the Calvary John James Hospital and the Canberra Hospital are described, and main findings are summarized. Based on the previous research, tangible outcomes of this project also include some short-term solutions as well as futuristic conceptual design proposals.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Medical Devices: From the idea to a sterile product

For over 10 years Single Use Surgical have been taking ideas and transforming
them to sterile products used in the operating theatre. Many aspects of problem
definition and development are common to any product development,
but there are particular challenges relating to the operating theatre environment
and the regulatory framework. This seminar details some of the practical
issues encountered in this journey.
Often the problem and potential solution has arisen in theatres, and so interest
and access is facilitated. There are guidelines and protocol for these theatre
visits and involving the correct people can ensure fewer blocks later on. Sometimes
it is possible to produce proof of concept non-sterile prototypes that can
be used in a non-clinical situation but still in theatres (eg at end of case). These
visits result in much higher quality feedback than meetings with the same
people in an office environment.
A sterile prototype is actually medical device, and requires full CE marking,
together with technical file, risk analysis, sterilisatin validation and product
liability insurance. This can be less of a challenge where reference can be
made to similar product families. Production of the prototype has to be in the
same controlled environment as volume production, and so we invested in a
cleanroom for prototype s at SUS. (This cleanroom is also available for daily
hire at £100/day). Final feedback from prototypes can give confidence for final
tooling and volume production.
Selling a finished surgical product generally takes around 10 times the effort
and cost of developing it. SUS now sell to over 450 UK hospitals and export
30% to over 20 countries. Understanding the challenges of the different markets
also influences product design. Post market surveillance and customer
feedback provide further opportunities for product improvements, sometimes
many years after initial launch.
www.susl.co.uk

D4H2013

Smart interactions for home healthcare: A semantic shift

A semantic shift is happening in the health industry. Healthcare is moving ever more towards home recovery and care, while time spent at hospital keeps reducing. This is beneficial for patients with faster recovery times and for the health industry through reduced costs. Home healthcare means that medical devices that assist people to look after themselves now need to establish an appropriate communication loop with the patient. There is no longer a focus on the medical device communicating with the medical practitioner through mainly only denotation of meaning. We suggest that the new communication loop implies that the medical device can sense information from the patient’s body, it can react to the data gathered and it can communicate back to the patient through denotation and connotation of meaning: making the information relevant for people’s everyday lives, addressing pragmatic and hedonic aspects, and not only through the display of data. This paper analyses a number of medical devices for home healthcare. We suggest a set of criteria that designers can use when designing smart interactions  for empowering patients to take care of their health. We present a number of designs from the School of Design, Victoria University of Wellington and assess them according to our suggested criteria.

Design and semantics of form and movement DeSForM 2013

COLLABORATIVE CREATIVE DESIGN PROCESS IN MEDICAL DEVICE DEVELOPMENT

Designing and developing a medical device is a complex exchange of ideas and theoretical concepts requiring multiple disciplines working towards viable solutions. It requires collaboration and cross-disciplinary effort between designers, clinical specialists, scientists, and engineers. This paper focuses on collaborative creativity between designers and physicians as well as the influence of design practice in order to advance conceptual theory. A total of 23 teams were given either a problem or a theoretical solution to design for six months to develop. Tangible results include 23 intellectual property disclosures, 12 provisional patents filed with 4 converted to non-provisional patent applications. The teams creative processes varied dependent upon the starting point of the design process and all included an increased reliance upon an interchange of disciplinary knowledge, trust, and concept experimentation. Smaller teams which were better able to identify key parameters of the design concept and subsequently generous robust solutions.

ICDC2012 Glasgow

Assessment and Design of Disposable Medical and Adaptive Apparel

This study discussed the design of functional clothing for patients who suffer from spinal
cord injury-induced lower-limb disabilities caused by car accidents or illness. Recycled
fibers were used as the basic material, and digital printing technology used to create
different color combinations. Ready-made clothes in Taiwan are not suitable for with
physical disable patients or those with urine drainage bags. The fabric is not antibacterial,
and the designs are dull. The study surveyed physicians and patients in order to gain an in-
depth understanding of patients’ actual needs. This study included four parts: 1)
questionnaire survey and interviews with four physical therapists, on-site observation on
the lifestyles of eight patients with lower-limb injuries, in order to summarize the design
elements of adaptive apparel and to design four types of pants; 2) antibacterial fabric made
of recycled fibers was used to reduce the possibility of bacterial infection; 3) digital
printing system was used to design individualized apparel; 4) different fillings and a
pressure measurement system used to measure the amount of pressure in pressure-free
pants to ensure their effectiveness and to improve comfort. This study reached three
conclusions. First, the assessment and design of disposable medical and adaptive apparel
were characterized by the following three features: 1) comfort and convenience are
important factors affecting patients’ intention to use such apparel; 2) the patients showed a
high level of acceptance for disposable recycled fabrics; 3) the provision of individualized
style and color combinations could significantly increase patients’ satisfaction. Second, the
design functions for patients of different ages could be used to establish complete
individualized design samples. Third, the use of recyclable materials and color
combinations should be subject to the characteristics of the materials and patients’
preferences, to ensure the function and design quality and to increase patients’ physical
comfort and psychological satisfaction.

DRS 2012 Bangkok