ENVISION

WOUND SURFACE CONTROLLER

Enables operation by caregivers that are not always trained on the device and provides an easy installation workflow with a robust design that withstands the demands of a mobile medical device while still being easy to transport, mount and use.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Hill-Rom needed a controller design for a specialized therapy mattress to be used on hospital bed frames. The new wound surface provides a solution for relieving a number of common and dangerous affects of bedridden, long-term care patients. 

CHALLENGES

Portability was crucial in creating a successful design. The control module was quite heavy and could be awkward to move and install onto a bed frame if not properly designed. We turned to mock-ups and early user evaluations to test initial design concepts for key usability and human factors issues.

SOLUTIONS

Significant attention was devoted to developing a display that afforded protection during transport but provided ease of viewing by nurses who needed to assess system status at a glance from across the room or standing outside in the hall. 

The final solution successfully addresses the needs of its wide range of users; nurse clinicians, hospital biomeds and DME service techs alike. Key to this is a design that is robust enough to withstand the demands of a mobile medical device while still being easy to transport, mount and use.