Originally Published EMDM November 2005
SPECIAL REPORT
Ergonomidesign Looks at Medical Product Design through Eyes of a Child
Christina Elston
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Sometimes part of quality medical device design is just plain looking good. And Ergonomidesign (Bromma, Sweden) knows how to do that. The injection pen the company designed for NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) was featured last year at an exhibition at the National Museum of Women and the Arts in Washington, D.C. But when the design has to appeal to pediatric patients, you have to steer in a more playful direction.
Ergonomidesign knows how to do that as well. The Genotropin pens they designed for Pfizer (New York City)—which feature changeable panels so that kids can decorate them in a variety of styles—won an Industrial Design Excellence Award in 2004.
Playfulness was also a factor in the design of the Niox Mino, which won a Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA) this year. (The annual MDEA programme is organized by Canon Communications llc, which publishes European Medical Device Manufacturer.) “In our opinion, medical devices need to be nonthreatening and user-friendly,” says industrial designer David Crafoord. “Great efforts have been made in order to give the device a friendly and ‘soft’ look.”
The device is designed to help asthma patients monitor their nitric oxide (NO) levels, an indicator of airway inflammation. Calling it “a serious instrument that has self-confidence, and therefore can be playful,” Crafoord explains that Ergonomidesign’s extensive experience in both the medical device market and in end-user needs and capabilities was the combination that led to the successful development of the Niox Mino, which is marketed by Aerocrine AB (Solna, Sweden). “Our expertise in combining exterior design and the user interface in an easy-to-understand and intuitive way was also important,” he says. “The nitric oxide measurement procedure should be playful and stimulating rather than technical and demanding.”
The device is small and simple enough to be used at home, and is designed to look pleasant on a child’s dresser or shelf. So its attractive form helps keep its useful function near at hand.
Copyright ©2005 European Medical Device Manufacturer
