Human-Centred Design Processes for Appropriate, Equitable, and Accessible Medical Device Design Innovation

Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pMedical devices (MDs) must satisfy the functional, emotional, and financial needs of a myriad of end users and stakeholders (‘customers’). To ensure equitable and accessible Medical Device Development (MDD) and innovation, how MDs are designed and by whom is critical. The medical device market is dominated by high-income (HIC) countries, predominantly through an engineering and regulatory lens. The resultant lack of contextually appropriate, accessible MDs, particularly in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs), suggests the need for a shift towards a more human-centred, design-led (‘creativite’) MDD industry, which promotes local manufacture and innovation in developing contexts. This chapter presents findings from a 2-year research project that explored three human-centred MDD processes (‘tools’). Using a retrospective multiple case study approach, the research investigated, documented, and analysed three MDD processes led by industrial designers from different countries, each concerned with various aspects of equity and accessibility, namely: Pearson Lloyd’s DBO Commode, designed in a HIC for HICs; Design that Matters’ Firefly, a newborn phototherapy device designed in a HIC for LMICs; and Praestet’s Symba, a hospital cot designed in South Africa for HICs and LMICs. By comparing the MDD processes of these cases with existing MDD process literature, and with each other, commonalities and differences were identified. This chapter provides an overview of each case, highlighting specific links to their design process leading to considerations of appropriateness, equity, and accessibility. It will conclude by discussing how human-centred design approaches lead to more innovative MDD outcomes (‘new solutions’) for a range of stakeholders in varied contexts.</jats:p>