Anesthésia workstation design by Ludovic Python
The challenge of this project was to create a machine with a complete different mindset.
“Medical design is an area that holds a lot of responsibility”.
Medical design is an area that holds a lot of responsibility. The products designed for the medical field, are products that will change, influence or even save lives.
Medical design is a team work. It requires at all times to collaborate within the development team to discuss alternatives and find solutions. During the whole process simultaneous factors need to be considered; functionality, human interaction with the machine, security elements, hygienic, smooth shapes, having a sense of solidity and security. What I like as well is to integrate the friendly appearance, especially if the product comes in direct contact with the patient.
One of the most important things about medical design is to understand that simpler is better. Users usually dislike to have additional features that will stand in the way of performing the daily tasks. Nevertheless are many instruments that require sophisticated features and therefor as a designer you need to mindful about the mix of usability versus the sophistication of functionality. Another thing important to consider is the product maintenance, the rule simpler is better still stands.
One of my medical designs has been to design an anesthesia station. Working on this project meant a lot of research on the field. I learned a lot about the surgery room, the workflow, what works and what doesn’t. Very special has been to be part of a live medical surgery. It gave me the chance to understand that I need to design a product that will not take a lot space; already customized (some products in this hospital were customized after purchase in their own “garage”).
The challenge of this project was to create a machine with a complete different mindset, different from the ones that existed at the time in the market.
For my customer was very important to have an object that is in link with his capabilities. This is when I needed to convince my customer to take a new perspective and to make a step ahead by putting the focus on the final customer.
The concept I developed after my research was to design a flexible, mobile and autonomous machine that can integrate in the current workflow and can follow the patient from beginning of the surgery until the end. The final product is a machine with a mobile docking station and a sealing arm. It has as well Wi-Fi connectivity to the hospital information system and a Bluetooth connection to the patient sensors. This allows to have no cables and eliminates an important problem regarding cleaning. On this project I worked closely with technical engineers to understand the connectivity, the measurements and the physical constraints and the flow of the anesthetic gas.
For the medical design is crucial that the user feels confident and comfortable with the product. To gain that trust we need to ensure quality and a rigorous design. Thinking, designing and offering what the patients will need in the future, is what I strive for.
-Valina Python
