Generative Research Methods for Medical
Product Design

Generative research informs the medical product design process through firsthand study and data gathering. Chief among these methods is medical ethnography which is actually a combination of methods including contextual observation, ergonomic field assessments and task flow analysis, including:

• Descriptive event information

• Documentation of physical space and movement

• "Verbatims” from healthcare providers and patients

• Observations of non-verbal behaviors, expressions and gestures

Ethnography allows medical product design team members to be a fly on the wall and see firsthand what people are doing, while working in their natural setting. It is not uncommon in post observation interviews with trained medical professionals for them to actually contradict what they demonstrated with their verbal description of the medical tasks they’ve performed. The results with medical product consumers can be even more dramatic which poses a significant challenge for medical product design team members.

Medical ethnography also relies upon gathering input via expert user interview techniques that facilitate open, critical feedback from medical professionals and consumers used for initial medical product designs. We employ several interview techniques in a process that emphasizes both verbal and observable behaviors including:

• Structured questions & answer format

• Day in the life narratives

• Critical incident discussions

• Artifact inspired feedback

Such information is used to develop models of work, and identify current medical product design limitations and future medical product design opportunities. We look at the macro level of the patient experience from diagnosis, through treatment and recovery, but the micro level of instrument design and use. This holistic view helps us design medical products that address critical patient care issues while making the devices easier to understand and use by medical professionals.

Ergonomic and anthropometric expertise can be applied during field observations to reveal inefficiencies in tool design and use for your medical product design. We focus on several critical factors in medical device use including:

• Clearance

• Posture

• Reach

• Strength

• Field of Vision

These factors can occur independently, but typically are inter-related resulting in a domino effect of poor usability. For example, a sub-optimal medical product design or medical device may lead a physician to compensate through poor posture and over-extending reach leading to inefficient strength transfer to the tool. Videographic and photographic human factors analysis can resolve these complex product interactions into diagnosable and addressable solutions for your medical product design.

Bresslergroup can provide experienced medical ethnography field research teams for stand-alone research efforts, or in the context of a medical product design project. Our unique combination of PhD –level research expertise integrated with award-winning medical product designers who are involved throughout the research process, leads to the visualization of results that can quickly develop into evidence-driven product concepts. We also provide training in methods and tools to support client teams of product managers, designers and engineers in conducting research and effectively translating observations into actionable results.

Continued >>
Contact Bresslergroup directly >>