Master Thesis
During this master thesis project for Pontes Medical and the UMC Utrecht, I developed a convenient device for laparoscope tip cleaning within the abdomen of the patient. Pontes Medical is intending to acquire a patent on this design. Therefore, the design and its former iterations can only be shown in a limited way. Instead an insight into the analysis and prototyping phase is given to display the skills used to tackle the challenges of this intricate project.
Context Analysis
The laparoscope is the only way to get a view of the surgical site during ‘keyhole surgeries’. Obstructions of the view often lead to cleaning of the laparoscope by retracting the laparoscope from the patient. Through literature research, interviews and observations, the two main problems found with this method were the increased risk for the patient by leaving the surgical site unsupervised and the interruption to the workflow of the surgical team leading to an inferior job.
Through analysing the shortcomings of currently available options it was found that a laparoscope tip cleaner could be technically excellent but when the user experience is undesirable or when the price is out of proportion, the device will not be successful. These aspect should therefore be carefully balanced by keeping the bigger picture in mind while focusing on the details.
Another challenge was found in the constraints of the physical environment in which this product would be placed. In order to work with the current instruments, the power transition from the user to the tip needed to fit into a 1 mm wide ring of which the inner diameter was 10 mm. Moreover, the cleaning action had to take place at an angle of 30 degrees on an oval surface area due to the angled tip of the laparoscope.
Testing
After selecting the most suitable cleaning method an iterative design process took place in which a lot of mock-ups were made and tested to deliver proof of principles. To test certain aspects of the user experience laparoscopic surgeons participated in a user test with the prototype at the Catharina hospital in Eindhoven. The result of this test were incorporated into the final design in which the view is near continuous, the workflow interruptions are minimal, the price range is within the budget while giving a satisfying user experience.
For a full insight of the report, contact me here