New product development processes within the UK medical device industry

Designing for Green and Grey: Insights from Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles

Recognizing modern society’s multiple risks, this study examines single-use plastic water bottles at the intersection of environmental degradation and societal carelessness for the elderly. While prioritising economic profits and plastic waste, we have neglected bottles’ typical poor openability for older people. Thus, we evaluated the openability of bottles with environmentally friendly and socially inclusive designs in South Korea by comparing older and younger adults’ experiences. Integrating different attributes than existing studies that analyse opening torque or one-handed opening, the test results show that older adults experience the poorest two-handed openability when bottles have both a weight thickness lower than 14.42 g and an easily squeezable bottle structure. In South Korea, companies advocate eco-friendliness by valuing lighter weight with less plastic and support user-friendliness by adopting easily squeezed sidewall patterns, while the industry maintains broad opening torque regulations; however, we show this combination exceeds older users’ capabilities. That is, for openability, bottles need to keep a weight thickness greater than 12 g, abandon easily squeezed sidewall patterns or reduce the opening torque regulation range to 100 N-cm. These socially favourable but ecologically adverse measures will be sustainable when the efficient linear economy transitions to an effective circular economy.

Factors Influencing Usability of Rehabilitation Robotic Devices for Lower Limbs

In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of elderly people in South Korea; this has led to rising costs and concerns on the quality of physical therapy treatment involving rehabilitation robotic devices. Therefore, the government has asked academia to expand its research scope to evaluate the usability of these devices. Hence, this study aimed to identify the major factors influencing the usability of a rehabilitation robotic device for lower limbs and the reasons for involving several diverse user groups for a more comprehensive evaluation. To measure usability as perceived by three primary user groups of user experience (UX) professionals, rehab professionals, and lay people, this study collected 196 survey. The results of an EFA showed that among three general quality factors and five device specific factors, visual pertinence, use confidence, and safety were the critical factors influencing usability, and the results of ANOVA offered that there was discrepancy in the influential factors, namely visual pertinence, transferring, and holding the body. These findings indicate that the necessity of employing a posture-centered approach and multiple user groups in assessing the usability of rehabilitation devices. Given these findings, it is suggested that the industry and design community should move toward implementing a more explorative perspective to enable a more human-centered and posture-concerned approach to provide better usability to the diverse users of medical devices.

Evaluation of success factors for medical device development using grey DEMATEL approach

Purpose

Successful device development brings substantial revenues to medical device manufacturing industries. This paper aims to evaluate factors contributing to the success of medical device development (MDD) using grey DEMATEL (decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) methodology through an empirical case study.

Design/methodology/approach

The factors are identified through literature review and industry experts’ opinions. Grey-based DEMATEL methodology is used to establish the cause-effect relationship among the factors and develop a structured model. Most significant factors contributing to the success of MDD are identified. An empirical case study of an MDD and manufacturing organisation is presented to demonstrate the use of the grey DEMATEL method. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to check robustness of results.

Findings

The results of applying the grey DEMATEL methodology to evaluate success factors of MDD show that availability of experts and their experience (SF4) is the most prominent cause factor, and active involvement of stakeholders during all stages of MDD (SF3) and complete elicitation of end-user requirements (SF1) are the most prominent effect factors for successful MDD. A sensitivity analysis confirms the reliability of the initial solution.

Practical implications

The findings will greatly help medical device manufacturers to understand the success factors and develop strategies to conduct successful MDD processes.

Originality/value

In the past, few success factors to MDD have been identified by some researchers, but complex inter-relationships among factors are not analysed. Finding direct and indirect effects of these factors on the success of MDD can be a good future research proposition.

Benefits of and barriers to involving users in medical device technology development and evaluation

Objectives:This study investigated the benefits of and barriers to user involvement in medical device technology development and evaluation.

Methods:A structured review of published literature in peer-reviewed journals was conducted.

Results:This literature review revealed that the main benefits of user involvement were an increased access to user needs, experiences, and ideas; improvements in medical device designs and user interfaces; and an increase in the functionality, usability, and quality of the devices. On the other hand, resource issues, particularly those of time and money were found the key impediments to involving users in the development and evaluation of medical device technologies. This study also has categorized both the benefits of and barriers to user involvement.

Conclusions:The involvement of users in medical device technology development and evaluation requires resources, which are limited; however, this involvement is essential from both users and manufacturers perspectives.