Medical Product Design Experience

Another great example of our medical product design experience is represented by our work for long-term client Vidar Systems. VIDAR is a leading supplier of document and x-ray scanners. The company built its medical product business serving architectural and engineering markets, but in the early 90s saw an opportunity to enter the medical product market. The resulting VXR-12 film digitizer was a top loading x-ray scanner used to digitize and store medical x-rays. Since developing the VXR-12, Bresslergroup has worked with VIDAR to build their medical product line and their brand in the medical imaging market. VIDAR has expanded the product line to include five other medical scanners– all of which follow the signature vertical format and design language pioneered with the VXR-12.

Bresslergroup has helped VIDAR maintain ease of use, sighting flexibility and visual brand vocabulary – all hallmarks of the market leading VIDAR brand. This evolution is represented by the Sierra which is 1/3 the weight of the competitive units and roughly 1/5 the overall volume. It is the first digitizer available for under $10,000 (US).

The medical scanner paradigm when the VXR-12 was introduced was like a plain paper copier. This traditional configuration, in addition to gobbling up counter space also increased the risk of scratching the x-ray film. VIDAR had no history serving the medical imaging market. So, there was no legacy product baggage to carry, just a desire to design and develop a successful medical product solution. This led to significant innovation through careful study of user requirements, and the technologies necessary to provide superior product performance.

The Sierra medical scanner was developed to address continued space saving requirements, as well as take advantage of Moore’s law. Better, smaller, cheaper components, in this case, paved the way for a smaller more affordable medical product that can be used in more places and closer to the point of care. That means better, faster, more efficient patient care, which is the ultimate objective of medical product design.

The vertical configuration of the product line set the stage for VIDAR to deliver high performance competitive products that could be produced for less than most competitive units. The primary cost reduction driver in this medical product design was the elimination of film handling mechanisms. The product design team also took great care in specifying materials and processes that could be economically produced in relatively small quantities, while maintaining product design integrity.

Driving down cost of this medical product design without sacrificing performance continues to be among the most significant engineering challenge. High quality electronics and optical components make up the majority of unit cost, and are relatively fixed in price. So keeping casework design and tooling and part costs low is a priority. The simplification/elimination of casework parts also paved the way for simple and rapid 2 hour final assembly. Size and weight targets for the Sierra also raised key design and engineering challenges. To stay small, the optical light path needed to be folded. The use of internal mirrors enabled the appropriate unit configuration and led to the use of a single aluminum extrusion for mounting of all critical components.

Almost immediately, customers grasped the functional advantages. And when they found that the price was lower than competitive units, sales took off. The VXR-12 and subsequent product line expansion have helped VIDAR grow from a non-entity in this medical product category in the early 90s to its current position as global market leader. They have nearly 95 percent share in two key diagnostic imaging segments – dosimetry and treatment planning.

Since introduction of their first medical product design in 1993 the medical scanner line has grown to represent twenty percent of overall corporate sales. More importantly the medical product line delivers very attractive gross margins due to market acceptance and the manufacturing efficiency of the design. In addition to business success, the medical product line has earned product design honors with the VXR and SIERRA each winning IDEA awards. This combination of innovation and product design efficiency raises a high bar for VIDAR’s competitors. And as our VIDAR / Bresslergroup team continues to work together into the future, the brand will grow and prosper as it has over the past 15 plus years.

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