Design research for medical devices: a promising human-centered future
Here’s my experience and take on a recent training programme I was a part of as a global exchange within ReSight Global between PeepalDesign India and our UK counterpart to learn about how to test medical devices for human factors
Wait, tell me more
…medical device testing for human factors
The medical technology world is constantly coming up with a new development, product, idea to making human life easier and longer. As user experience or human factors professionals we also look at making human experience better, and life easier.
At the intersection of this is the ‘medical devices testing’, testing human factors parameters to ensure if medical devices are safe, efficient and fit to be used by their target users
How is it similar and different from other design research?
Having worked across a range of domains in design research from community-led craft practices work, to technology, from law and human rights to lifestyle and luxury, from gaming to health-tech ventures I’ve seen a fair amount of length and breadth of consulting work I’ve done in the space. Well at the root of design research is the product/service usability, perception and several behaviours associated with the domain.
Medical devices testing has fundamental similarities to other domains with its heavy focus on ease of use, effectiveness of the product, information design for instructibles as well as intuitive design that leans into human behavior.
The difference is in importance of use ‘safety’. Other domains apart from perhaps automobile testing don’t have it at this gravity. When we speak about safety, it is very nuanced safety, at every microstep of the process from the making to the complete application and after-effects.
So if use safety is a critical element, how do you test for it that it is different from other design research?
Well, the most used word in research has been ‘keen, detailed observation’ and it stands true for this type of work more than any other that I’ve seen in the past. It’s in the micro-moments of the interactions with the devices. Whether it is the epi-pen, have they really given it a good shake? Is it intuitive enough to do that? Before injecting was everything followed according to what’s needed to safely, well apply the device or not? Every single micro-movement needs to be captured, registered with the moderator in a way that anything slightly off can be a risk. Being super attuned to the participant is the most critical aspect of the study. Once you have noted what the use error is, the deep-dive is through a root cause analysis, again this is not different but more in-depth than the similar work you’d do in other domains, where getting to the ‘why’ of every micro and nano-decision, action and thought becomes the task, and each detail of the conversation documented to the T, as the findings go to a regulatory body for everything human health related.
Where else in Health-tech do I feel it can be applied?
The Indian health-care system is one that’s become the most sought after for its expertise, frugality as well as the sheer magnitude. We are riding the wave of medical tourism at its finest. Well, that being said, public healthcare systems in India reach the last man standing, but they need massive infrastructural as well as fundamental interventions, there’s a lot to be done.
However, over the last half decade, we’ve seen an emergence of last-mile lab testing services to pharmaceuticals delivered at the doorstep. But it all has come with its own price to pay, I read a health-tech app notification to me on these lines, “Have you been forgetting things lately, don’t take it lightly — can be early signs of dementia” — and overtime I’ve read plenty of such notifications, emailers and more. It’s like the newage ‘Google Search’ or WebMD that can take a tension headache, combined with just the right amount of health anxiety all the way to brain cancer.
I think we’re doing harm by instigating health anxiety just to have people get more anxious about having something and constantly get tested. There needs to be a more safe interface while we make healthcare easy to access at the doorstep. We need to probably distinguish between ‘educating for better awareness and health track’ and ‘instigating an anxious thought to have someone doom-search and doom-test’.
This is only the beginning I believe, and there’s more applications but this is the first step to getting at safer and effective medical & pharmaceutical services and products.
