Last year, Craig Chamberlain and his team of designers traveled around the world – over 101,964 miles, to be exact – meeting clinicians in hospitals and clinics to observe how they use point-of-care ultrasound. Chamberlain is the Director of Experience Design at FUJIFILM Sonosite, heading up a team of Industrial, Experience, and Human Factors designers, and this type of “user-oriented” observation is part of Sonosite’s unique design process.
“We’re extremely excited to have won the Silver at IDEA 2016,” said Chamberlain. “This award shows that we created an ultrasound system that achieved our design goals of creating an ultrasound system that’s functional, efficient, and provides a great user experience.” The design team observed 280 ultrasound users in action, gaining valuable insight into how users engage with ultrasound in point-of-care settings.
“The biggest take away I had was how important the concept of time is. It’s fascinating. Doctors and clinicians are using ultrasound to find an answer as quickly as possible. Any time they spend adjusting images or moving through a complicated interface is time that’s taken away from being able to give their patients a diagnosis. Time is so critical for them.”That understanding of a clinician’s time, and how to design for “ease-of-use,” was a primary consideration for Craig and his team when creating the Sonosite SII portable ultrasound machine.
“We knew the SII was going to feature a new touchscreen user interface. But the problem we want to solve was, “How do we create a clinician driven menu logic that feels intuitive and gives users what they need on the screen,” said Diku Mandavia, Chief Medical Officer for FUJIFILM. “We understand that it’s really about transforming the pace of patient care. We wanted to give clinicians the ability to get the right answer at a critical moment.”
The seven and a half months (roughly 1,700 hours) the Sonosite team spent observing and working with point-of-care users paid off this month as the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) awarded Sonosite the Silver in the 36th Annual International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). FUJIFILM Sonosite’s SII Ultrasound Machine was among more than 1,700 projects from 30-plus countries that competed in IDEA 2016.
“At the end of the day, Sonosite’s mission is about helping physicians treat any patient, anywhere, anytime,” said Ben Dekock, Industrial Designer at FUJIFILM Sonosite. “We take that to heart and our team put a ton of work into creating design that puts our users first. We take design seriously at Sonosite and it’s validating to see that our work paid off.”
Jury Chair Cameron Campbell led a team of global design experts on judging more than 600 finalists from June 3-6 at the iconic Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. “IDEA has an incredible legacy of establishing the best in international design,” says Campbell, and IDEA 2016 winners span a wide range of 21 categories such as social impact; medical and scientific innovations; transportation; home and garden; office; personal accessories; children’s products; sporting goods; and much more. IDSA Board of Directors Chair John Barratt—himself a former IDEA jury chair—hails the competition as “the authority on design”—showcasing new designs in products that are used every day, and products featuring first-of-a-kind innovations.
Want to Learn More About the Sonosite SII?
Watch our SII video below and check out our product page at https://www.sonosite.com/product/sonosite-sii.