Woundoscope
An Endoscope for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Deep, Non-healing, Sinus Tracts
An Endoscope for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Deep, Non-healing, Sinus Tracts
Starting with the premise that medical professionals are the best source of innovation in biomedical product design, I reached out to physicians and nurses with the offering to design a new product to address difficulties they run into in their day-to-day diagnostic and theraputic procedures.
Among the positive responses was one from a physician at the Johns Hopkins Wound Center in Baltimore, MD. They had a need for an endoscope in their treatment of tunneling wounds. In short he said, ‘We see sinus tracts that, due to their deep depth and small openings,are hard to diagnose. What I would like to have is an endoscope that we could use to look inside these wounds.’
The week spent observing at Johns Hopkins was invaluable in understanding the medical criteria surrounding this problem. Further secondary research confirmed the need for this device wasn't just in this isolated case, but industry wide.
The week spent observing at Johns Hopkins was invaluable in understanding the medical criteria surrounding this problem. Further secondary research confirmed the need for this device wasn't just in this isolated case, but industry wide.
In looking at existing medical endoscopes what stood out was the way that these devices were engineered around their function, but not necessarily designed for their end-users. Most used an 'etch-a-sketch' style interface, wherein it takes a lot of practice to train the muscle memory necessary to link control and movement.
For an alternative I looked at newer style videogame controllers, with their better ergonomic forms and intuitive functionality.
For an alternative I looked at newer style videogame controllers, with their better ergonomic forms and intuitive functionality.
