MD+DI, the Global MedTech Industry Authority, Highlights the Human Element in Medical Device Design: Designing the Devices Surgeons Want and Pushing the Boundaries of Innovation

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MD+DI (Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, UBM Canon's leading brand providing the medical device industry with the latest news, information, and in-depth analysis, announced a series of articles and discussion covering perspectives on the human element of medical device design.

 "We're taking a close look at what the human element means to the medical device industry," stated Brian Buntz, Editor for MD+DI. "To some, the focus of that is on the patient's experience living with a medical device. For others, the emphasis is on producing devices that are safer and easier for physicians to use in their procedures. In an industry focused on saving and enhancing people's lives, sometimes the human element gets lost in the shuffle of regulatory issues, recalls, pricing squeezes, and rising costs—yet it is an integral part of the entire industry."

For the first two parts of the series, Buntz spoke with Professor Mary Beth Privitera, a designer of medical devices and biomedical-engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati who oversaw the Medical Design Excellence Awards judging process in 2011 to get her view on the human element of innovation.

In the first part, "Designing the Devices Surgeons Want," Privitera states, "The human element is the one common thread that is throughout the entire process and throughout the entire innovation cycle where you get the idea, the inspiration for the idea, and then there is a whole push from a regulatory perspective of making products that are more advanced with regard to ergonomics and human factors."

Privitera also discusses the importance of clinical observation and how crucial it is for the problem solver (design engineer) and problem owner (surgeon) to work together to find the best solution. She discusses clinical observation including stress testing. Read more and join the discussion here.

In part two, "Pushing Boundaries of Innovation," Privitera takes a deeper dive into the idea behind stress monitoring of physicians to identify challenging components of procedures to then address in specific medical device design and delivery methods. She also discusses the use of personas to "help break out large market segments based on use behavior" as well as visual mapping of clinical procedures. Learn more about the creative use of personas in medical device design and the multiple uses of visual mapping here.

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