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DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL DIABETIC FOOT RISK ASSESSMENT FOR LOW-RESOURCE HEALTHCARE SETTINGS: A CASE STUDY OF LEAN DESIGN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

Madison Reddie  and
Daniel Frey
Madison Reddie*
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Daniel Frey
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
*
Reddie, Madison, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America, [email protected]

Abstract

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Interest in applying a “lean” philosophy to design has been slowly growing in recent years, but there are still few broadly applicable methodologies and illustrative cases published in the literature to guide lean design processes. Lean approaches promise cost reduction and increased product value, which could be particularly beneficial in product development for low- and middle-income country markets, where value demands are high. We use the clinical need of efficient diabetic foot risk assessment in lowresource healthcare settings to present an example of lean early-stage design of a medical device. The background of existing medical literature and commercial products is intentionally leveraged throughout the design process to streamline development and minimize the need for independent validation of product strategies and design features. Our approach resulted in an efficient design process that generated a novel, purely mechanical plantar pressure evaluation device that can indicate high risk of diabetic foot ulcer in resource-constrained settings. This case provides a practical example of how design processes can be adapted to be leaner where there are large gains from minimizing design cycle time and cost.

Keywords

Lean designNew product developmentBiomedical designDiabetic footMedical device
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 3: ICED23 , July 2023 , pp. 1465 - 1474
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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