The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for major innovations in medtech and care delivery, but “no contact” and similar policies created significant challenges that demanded a new approach to how caregivers, OEMs, and manufacturing teams collaborated on medical product development. The development of Domico’s work surface table is a perfect example of how adapting during the pandemic paved the way for a new process that accelerates timelines and empowers caregivers as well as OEMs to rapidly bring new products to market in a post pandemic world.
Work Surface Table: Remote Product Development from Concept to Market in 6 Months
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, a customer approached Domico about developing a work surface table for radial access in its catheter lab. The world was contactless at that time, presenting challenges in collaboration and product development.
Domico led a series of Zoom meetings where our customer shared their vision for the work surface table:
- Nurses had developed a makeshift workaround to hold instruments such as catheters, syringes, and other tools near the wrist for radial access during procedures. They were using an arm board, which helped, but instruments would routinely fall off the board and out of the sterile field
- Falling instruments were inconvenient and costly, as they needed replaced, and created potential contamination risks when they left the sterile field
- Our customer wanted a solution that would conveniently tuck under the table pad and feature a lip to prevent instruments from falling. The solution would keep instruments close at hand for improved efficiency, eliminate costly replacements, and enhance patient safety by keeping instruments in the sterile field
We listened to our customer’s input to ideate a work surface table that met their vision. Through an entirely remote process, we designed, built, and shipped a plastic prototype within six weeks. Next, we collaborated with the customer on iterations to produce a final product that kept instruments near the wrist without falling – optimizing the room, improving staff productivity and satisfaction, and enhancing patient safety.
Where typical product development takes more than a year, the remote collaboration process employed by Domico enabled us to complete the project in just six months. Thus, pandemic challenges paved the way for a new method of product development that offers ongoing benefits for caregivers who need bespoke solutions or want to bring new products to market.
A New Opportunity for Caregivers (and OEMs)
Caregivers are natural innovators. They identify creative ways to:
- Increase efficiency
- Improve safety
- Enhance patient care
Often, caregivers design makeshift solutions to work around common problems. However, they don’t always know they can develop new products that serve not only their hospitals and clinics, but also hospitals and clinics worldwide.
The remote collaboration process of product development borne out of the pandemic offers a new opportunity in medical system usage in which:
- Caregivers can act as OEMs
- And no longer rely on the medical system’s limited out of the box solutions or jury-rigged workarounds
- By developing their own solutions to increase efficiency and provide better patient – and staff – experiences
Moreover, caregivers can create permanent solutions, enabling an efficient, consistent process that eliminates variability. For example, instead of taking time to roll or clamp towels to manage cords between every procedure, they can simply use a cord management drape designed for that specific purpose.
The traditional product development pathway might seem long and difficult, but this new process creates an exception to the rule for caregivers – and OEMs – who can take advantage of remote collaboration. Here are four benefits of this pioneering approach to medical product development.
1. Accelerated Product Development
Remote collaboration fosters accelerated product development, especially when you partner with an experienced vendor. With remote collaboration, there’s no need for multiple in-person visits, to align meetings between busy schedules, or to bring products back and forth between facilities.
Remote collaboration removes long waiting periods from the process, especially when caregivers can often only answer emails between procedures and don’t have time for formal, in-person meetings every week – much less every day.
2. Streamlined Designed and Manufacturing
An experienced vendor can eliminate work and create value for caregivers and OEMs. Domico, for example, offers both design and manufacturing in-house, marrying the two into a one-stop shop for medical product development. Experts from both disciplines collaborate throughout the process to proactively resolve challenges and eliminate the need for unnecessary trial, error, and iterations.
Experienced vendors like Domico can also leverage a vast array of raw materials and approved suppliers, significantly reducing time required for research and testing. Established relationships and expertise help bring products to market faster with less work for caregivers and OEMs.
3. Simplified Regulatory Approval
Partnering with an experienced manufacturer also helps caregivers and OEMs navigate regulatory hurdles. Domico, for example, owns its regulatory pathway and has established product families that make it relatively easy to add new products due to a broad framework under each product category. In other words, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to bring a new product to market, and experienced partners can help you address regulatory issues, eliminate nonessential costs, and earn approval faster.
4. Greater Marketability
The remote collaboration process also lends to marketability with quick commercialization, streamlined methodologies, and the ability to scale. For caregivers, there’s no need to wade through traditional pathways when an experienced vendor has already mapped the path to success.
Note that it’s important to choose a vendor who will work with you to understand the market, which helps manufacturers address patient and staff needs with products that meet market demand. In addition, some companies – like Domico – also provide packaging and shipping to eliminate middlemen and unnecessary costs while accelerating time to market.
The pandemic changed the world, and its effects on the medical world are lasting. A silver lining is that it also forced innovators to rethink medical product development and identify a new pathway that yields ongoing benefits.
Caregivers and OEMs that have product ideas, then, should consider remote collaboration with experienced vendors to save time, reduce costs, earn regulatory approval, and bring successful products to market faster than ever before.
.jpg?width=67&name=Non-Sterile%20CE%20Mark%20(002).jpg)
