Patient monitoring system

GOAL 3 wants to enable and empower health workers with durable and easy-to-use medical technology for places where it is needed the most. Their aim is to improve health care access for 100 million people by 2030. Their first step to achieve this is to develop an affordable pediatric monitoring system suitable for harsh environments and underprivileged countries. ManGo was requested to be the development partner for GOAL 3’s IMPALA system.

Client

GOAL3, Netherlands

Services

Research, Design strategy, Concept development, Prototyping, Design for manufacturing

UN Goal

Medical device design process

As a first step ManGo was responsible for the ISO13485 audit of the selected manufacturer. As with all medical developments the initial main focus are norms and regulations. To ensure all critical aspects are considered and specified at the start and throughout the whole design process. Clinical trials in Malawi were already scheduled 6 months ahead of the project initiation, so a lot of work needed to be done within a limited time.

Attractive product design

Despite the ambitious planning, ManGo made sure to pay attention to the desired look and feel of the monitor. Throughout several brainstorms, sketching sessions and prototyping our team developed a distinctive and iconic design for the patient monitor. During the development process our research uncovered that the device had to be highly portable (in contrast to Western or Asian hospitals). So, integrating a sturdy handle became an important feature for the overall look and feel. A non-functional prototype was made and evaluated, to verify the look and feel in real-life.

Functional engineering

Because of the portability, additional drop-protection was required. For this a protective sleeve was developed to ensure high impact resistance. And, the device would mainly be used in hot and humid climates. Meaning the electronics needed to be cooled but they can’t be exposed to water. CFD analysis (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and physical, thermal measurements were executed, to ensure the monitor could withstand such extreme conditions. In close collaboration with the manufacturer and Goal 3, the electronics were integrated. A complex puzzle in which logical locations for components such as the alarm light, connectors, PCBA’s and touch screen had to be determined.

Clinical trial prototypes

A small series of prototypes was built for severe user tests, ManGo was responsible for drop, topple and freefall tests. All results were well-documented and findings implemented to further improve the mechanical design. Water ingress protection and thermal test in a climate chamber were also executed successfully. After these tests, 50 monitors were built for the clinical trials in Malawi (Africa).