- Reduced the number of steps from up to 15 to 3 » See Cleo’s 3-step advantage
- Created the first all-in-one system: sterile packaging, inserter and needle-safe disposal container
- Hid the needle from sight for ease of mind and perceived pain reduction
- Made the "on-body" part smaller and adjustable on-the-fly to fit any outfit or activity
- Created a discreet non-medical looking product
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Absolute simplicity. Three products in one and only three steps to use.
Most companies do at least some kind of market research before designing or redesigning their products. This research may be informal, such as input from the sales team on what customers want, or formal, quantitative research, often conducted in focus groups or as part of a larger Six Sigma process. Design research is a fundamentally different way of approaching the innovation process.
Design research means Bridge's designers get immersed in the problem by direct and personal contact and observation of the intended user group. Because we are designers we see issues in a fundamentally different way than market researchers. We are much more interested in "What could be" rather than "What has been". We are not looking to have our users design the product for us by listing out the shortcomings of existing products or suggesting incremental improvements. Instead we are experts at finding out what users really want by understanding the context of how they want the product to fit into their lives. This is how Bridge's designers worked with the engineers at Smiths Medical to create this groundbreaking product.
» Learn more
Although Bridge already had extensive experience in this area, having designed the CoZmo™ insulin pump, it was important to go back out into the field to confirm or disprove existing theories specific to infusion sets this time. The designers, using a special blend of design research techniques, began immersive research by observing and interviewing dozens of insulin pumpers to learn all the details of how they live with their infusion sets. Disposable cameras and journals sent out in advance allowed the participants to document and ponder their daily routines, giving Bridge unique insight into the nuances of their lives, especially in areas that users have a difficult time articulating. Group and one-on-one interviews followed where Bridge designers discussed, in a structured but flexible format, issues that spanned a wide range of topics (some planned and some serendipitous): education, installation frustrations, pain, infection, scar tissue, fat, clothing, sex, swimming, insurance, general hopes and desires. After several days of videotaped interviews, it became clear that although users can't design their own infusion sets, they do know what they want. They want fast, simple, and foolproof insertion and long-wearing comfort all in a compact design.
Through years of experience we have observed that better briefed teams are much more innovative, contrary to popular belief that the best ideas will come from people who are unclouded by existing practice. Bridge hosted a briefing session based on our user research, helping Smiths understand and rank customer requirements until the whole team had a deep feel for what users really wanted and needed. The project team (which included people representing an assortment of ranks and roles from both Bridge and Smiths) brainstormed in a series of short "mini-brainstorm" sessions over 2 days. Each mini-brainstorm was structured around a particular question centered on an essential customer desire; ie "How can we reduce & speed steps in the insertion process?"
Hundreds of brainstorm ideas, from silly to sublime, were documented, ranked for potential, and sorted by Bridge. With more interpretation, thought, and sketching, Bridge designers generated a set of about a half-dozen possible product concepts synthesizing the best of the brainstorm ideas. After a presentation of each concept and discussions about its particular goals, strong points and failings, inherent issues and possible solutions, the team selected the top ideas for further development. The all-in-one set was a clear winner, and happily dovetailed well with an integral inserter tool already underway in Smiths' engineering department.
As Smiths engineered Cleo's mechanism and detailed parts for production, Bridge provided design guidance to be sure "softer" user needs were represented in every detail of the design. We helped refine the fastener that locks the infusion set onto the cannula, keeping in mind that people with diabetes may well have impaired manual dexterity. We suggested and detailed the knurled texture of the product's triple-duty sterile packaging/inserter tool/needle-safe container so that it provided a good grippy surface and conveyed a soft drink level of disposability -"twist me open and throw me away". And we guided the overall look of the product, which had to a walk a line between trust-inspiring solidity and guilt-free disposability - with flair and consumer appeal that never announces its user has a medical condition.
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- Created a product personality through the interface that was truly the first insulin pump a wide variety of people with diabetes could use
- Went from newcomer to #2 in the market in a span of 2 years
- Shook up the industry: the competition copied key features
- Garnered great feedback from users
- Demonstrated to Smiths management that early
Insulin-dependent diabetics may opt for an insulin pump rather than injections. A pump provides much tighter control of the disease, more flexible eating habits, and lower risk of complications. Insulin pumps rely on disposable infusion sets to deliver insulin to the body. Inserting a set means driving its soft, hollow plastic cannula into the skin with a needle that is then withdrawn; the cannula is affixed to the skin with an adhesive patch and connected via tubing to the pump. Given the development cost (and risk) of designing and producing their own infusion set, Smiths challenged Bridge to help them create a product with significant user benefits over existing designs.
Most companies do at least some kind of market research before designing or redesigning their products. This research may be informal, such as input from the sales team on what customers want, or formal, quantitative research, often conducted in focus groups or as part of a larger Six Sigma process. Design research is a fundamentally different way of approaching the innovation process.
Design research means Bridge's designers get immersed in the problem by direct and personal contact and observation of the intended user group. Because we are designers we see issues in a fundamentally different way than market researchers. We are much more interested in "What could be" rather than "What has been". We are not looking to have our users design the product for us by listing out the shortcomings of existing products or suggesting incremental improvements. Instead we are experts at finding out what users really want by understanding the context of how they want the product to fit into their lives. This is how Bridge's designers worked with the engineers at Smiths Medical to create this groundbreaking product.
» Learn more
It is important to note that this early discovery phase must be done carefully, with an eye to the fact that it is gathering qualitative data. Those people interpreting the findings must not become slaves to the numbers. A major challenge facing any medical company aiming for a better or even revolutionary product is how to listen for what customers really want in a next-generation solution. Rhall Pope, VP of R&D at Smiths Medical, was faced with this dilemma when they began the Cozmo project. He says, “Because customers of existing products are referenced to the way those products work, it is very hard for them to tell you what they want unless you change the whole framework of how you ask the question. In most cases they have a hard time thinking the product can even be different. So I think what early design research does is to get the team thinking outside of an existing product model or market perception of what the product should do. Instead it uncovers the value of the product to the user and where this value could be enhanced.”
Through years of experience we have observed that better briefed teams are much more innovative, contrary to popular belief that the best ideas will come from people who are unclouded by existing practice. Bridge hosted a briefing session based on our user research, helping Smiths understand and rank customer requirements until the whole team had a deep feel for what users really wanted and needed. The project team (which included people representing an assortment of ranks and roles from both Bridge and Smiths) brainstormed in a series of short "mini-brainstorm" sessions over 2 days. Each mini-brainstorm was structured around a particular question centered on an essential customer desire; ie "How can we reduce & speed steps in the insertion process?"
Hundreds of brainstorm ideas, from silly to sublime, were documented, ranked for potential, and sorted by Bridge. With more interpretation, thought, and sketching, Bridge designers generated a set of about a half-dozen possible product concepts synthesizing the best of3ws the brainstorm ideas. After a presentation of each concept and discussions about its particular goals, strong points and failings, inherent issues and possible solutions, the team selected the top ideas for further development. The all-in-one set was a clear winner, and happily dovetailed well with an integral inserter tool already underway in Smiths' engineering department.
As Smiths engineered Cleo's mechanism and detailed parts for production, Bridge provided design guidance to be sure "softer" user needs were represented in every detail of the design. We helped refine the fastener that locks the infusion set onto the cannula, keeping in mind that people with diabetes may well have impaired manual dexterity. We suggested and detailed the knurled texture of the product's triple-duty sterile packaging/inserter tool/needle-safe container so that it provided a good grippy surface and conveyed a soft drink level of disposability -"twist me open and throw me away". And we guided the overall look of the product, which had to a walk a line between trust-inspiring solidity and guilt-free disposability - with flair and consumer appeal that never announces its user has a medical condition.
From Bridge’s vantage point of spending a great deal of time in the field and always working on the next great medical product that’s two to five years away from release, we have an interesting relationship to medical product design trends. On the one hand we help establish the trends with the products we design. On other hand we observe changing cultural trends and incorporate those into our design thinking.
One of the larger trends we’re seeing is that some of the thinking behind what makes a great consumer product is finding its way into designing medical products, especially those that are patient-centric. Nowhere is this more obvious than in
application-specific products where we have an opportunity to design for a much more specific group of users. The product can be designed for a better patient experience without the need to be all things to all users like many of the general medical products out there.
Bridge’s Director of Industrial Design, Matt Presta, who also happens to be a parent, explains: “Any mother who has had an ultrasound is familiar with the cart of equipment, probes, gels, screens, printouts, and everything else that comes with it. And although the experience is necessary for clinical reasons, many parents just want to see their baby. For years, Bridge has observed trends clearly pointing towards designing for the patient’s experience. Since we’re still a few years away from seeing the tipping point of the patient-centric trend in health care, we wanted to provide a glimpse into the future based on what we’re seeing happening in the industry.”
It’s worth noting that although this device has not yet been manufactured it reflects a trend that Bridge sees growing, with more application-specific medical products likely to appear at healthcare facilities in the not-too-distant future. “As a given technology matures, its cost and size typically shrinks. This opens up exciting possibilities to those forward-thinking medical equipment manufacturers who understand that if you change your design thinking to be more user and
patient-centric, then new market opportunities can be created. Addressing baseline functionality and reliability at low cost is not enough to stay ahead of the game in mature markets,” says Presta.
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