Role of Second Generation Medical Device Development

The Next Generation Medical Device
As medical devices become a more common part of everyday life, it's highly likely they'll take on characteristics of today's consumer or consumer electronics products. Over the life cycle, we've seen this transitions with many categories of products previously. At one time, personal computers were only thought of as office or work-related devices. Now, they're an integral part of most people's lifestyle, whether used for entertainment, education, or communication.

While medical devices will still likely have a much more focused function, moving towards consumer means they'll be much more widely accepted and more integrated with people's lifestyles. Therefore, it's also likely that the typical characteristics that come with an increased consumer focus will be expected from second generation medical devices.

I found 11 characteristics that are likely to be expected, and these characteristics include much more emphasis on ergonomics or product language, as well as making the device intuitive and easy-to-use. Making the device attractive to consumers usually also implies services with frequent updates and repair. Brand Identity can also become a major role in medical device industry.

Here is the ideal diagram of next generation medical device development, which 11 roles I have selected are equally functioning with balance.
















Ideal prototype of medical product device
11 characteristics are operating equally like well-designed consumer electronic product.

My next step is to draw the diagram that shows the current situation of medical device development, which I believe is focused to surgical efficacy, and regulation compliance too much. This blog will show the result of interviews that I am having with doctors (the user of medical product) and information that give insight.