Design Realization/Detailed Design - Medical Device Design: Innovation from Concept to Market - page 198

If there is one thing I hope to get across in this topic, it is the concept of “healthcare jewelry.” All
of our medical devices should not just function - they should look good too. Something I learned
quickly was that if you want to command a high price your device had better look expensive!
Because consumer items (such as DVD players, etc.) are so cheap, technology alone no longer
commands high added value. Hence revisit Chapter 1 and reread the quote from a certain Steve
Jobs. No one could argue that Apple computers ignored this concept - neither should you.
Some of you may not have the skill to make your device “desirable.” However there are
numerous product designers and industrial designers who can help. They will charge you,
but as I was told some time ago “only one company can be the cheapest, competing on price
alone is not enough - be different by design.” If your raison d'être is to be the cheapest, then
so be it. However if you want to be the market leader I suggest you take the meaning of this
sentence to heart, just as Apple did…and it did them no harm.
8.9 Summary
In this chapter we examined the tools required to perform a satisfactory detailed analysis.
Hopefully you will have seen that having a well written PDS takes all of the hard work out of
design!
We examined specific team selection and the importance of the team/design lead in the team's
overall performance. We also examined their role in relation to quality management. I then
introduced standard design documentation to ensure that QM is robust.
We then looked at specific tools that will make your life easier, such as computer-aided design
and computer-aided analysis. We examined the role of various visualization and rapid prototyping
techniques and saw how they can help you to produce a design worthy of the problem. I then
introduced you to the family of DFX tools and showed you how they can be used to minimize
your exposure when risk analysis, necessary for all medical devices, is conducted.
References
Ashby, M. F. (2004). Materials selection in mechanical design . Oxford: Butterworth-Heinmann.
Boothroyd, G., Dewhurst, P., & Knight, W. A. Product design for manufacture and assembly . CRC Press.
Grimes, S., Donaldson, J., & Gomez, G. C. (2008). Report on the environmental benefits of recycling . Bureau of
International Recycling.
Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin , 63 (6), 384-399.
Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development revisted . Group and Organisation
Studies. pp 419-427.
Williams, D. F. (1999). The Williams dictionary of biomaterials . Liverpool University Press.
Williams, D. F. (2003). Revisiting the definition of biocompatibility. Medical Device Technology , 14 (8).