Defining User Needs

Rebion had an extended history of unique technology development and more than 15 years of R&D and clinical testing at major medical institutions combined with talking to users that established their product roadmap. Developing the technology of detecting a misalignment of the eyes known as strabismus, a condition that can interfere with the eyes’ ability to work together, was the key differentiator for Rebion. The blinq™ device is unique because it detects even subtle strabismus, so the device can more accurately screen and refer patients to ophthalmologists for diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia. Vision loss from amblyopia is entirely preventable if diagnosed and treated early. The blinq™ device is the result of meeting the unmet user need for reliability and accuracy in the diagnostic process.

Building A New Partnership

Rebion started their commercialization process by working with a contract manufacturer to complement the medical, core technology, marketing and finance expertise they had in house. At Rebion’s request, the contract manufacturer invited me to help visualize the new product via some quick concept sketches as part of the kickoff process. In partnering with the full product development team, my role expanded into a 2 year partnership to help visualize and actualize the new device called blinq™ .

Ergonomics + Human Factors

The weight and the scale of the optics bench inside the product were configured as compactly as possible for the timeline. With some iterative updates and testing, the soccer ball size became a reality. The next step was to define the interaction points and steps for use to align software needs with hardware realities and to determine grip areas, buttons and connector locations, strap attachment zones, and one-handed and two-handed display interaction strategies. We explored a range of human factors scenarios including medical personnel user heights combined with the target market of 18 month to 10 year old children and defined a user experience and interaction plan.

Refinement Details

A concept was selected and iteratively refined to meet user needs and cost targets. Details of part break strategies were explored and OEM components were selected to streamline production and optimize cost. Various button technologies and component architectures were tested to provide positive user feedback and to facilitate ease of use. A range of colors, materials and finished were considered to integrate with the blinq™ corporate identity, be appropriate for medical use and to minimize children’s distraction during the scanning procedure. Every feature and detail strived to support the theme of simplicity.

Production + Manufacturing Liaison

I love the challenge of the technical aspects of industrial design. In order to deliver the design intent established with a client and their customers, it is necessary to know how to negotiate the details of production. Never knowing what hat you will have to wear for the day, each arbitration brings the team a step closer to the finish line. Specifying the right color, material and finish options, inspecting parts for approval, negotiating with manufacturing partners and stepping up with some masking and painting skills when the schedule doesn’t play nice are all tools in the arsenal of the industrial designer to reach the finish line successfully.

Design intent promised = Design intent delivered.

Design Intent Delivered…

User friendly…

Intuitive cues of overall form factor, ergonomic touch points, simple graphical user interface(GUI) and informative product graphics guide frequent and infrequent users to executing successful scans with blinq™.

Simple geometric shapes used in the appearance of blinq™ are familiar, friendly and non-intimidating to children as they are being scanned. I was responsible for the physical product features and ergonomic development including the display size to fit the product in support of the UX team.

Medical Products | Making a Difference

Handheld and portable medical products provide a vital roles in diagnosing and treating medical conditions, illness and injury. Rebion has developed a pediatric vision scanner that easily and accurately screens for amblyopia, or “lazy eye”, both in medical offices and in local community settings via vision screenings by community organizations. The blinq™ device facilitates earlier identification of children who need vision-saving treatment when therapy is likely to be more effective to prevent monocular (single eye) vision loss, affecting three of every 100 children in the U.S. Scanning with Rebion blinq also reduces unnecessary referrals to ophthalmologists.

Drive Differentiation

The field of competitors in pediatric vision screening is fairly substantial. Rebion recognized the need to be technologically and visually differentiated from the competition early on, and leveraged industrial design to amplify those differences. Ophthalmologist scanning instrumentation can be intimidating, imprecise or distracting which leads to unnecessary or missed referrals for treatment. In surveying the competitive landscape, Rebion recognized the opportunity to embrace design as part of the development effort.

Competitive Research

Rebion had a good working knowledge of their technology competitors in the eye scanning market. The next step was exploring the visual brand language of those competitors and other analogous products to define a strategy for concept development efforts. Understanding form factors and features of other products on the market helped to establish a competitive benchmark to drive industrial design development.

Driving toward a user-friendly and non-intimidating result, we explored Rebion’s inspiration of a “soccer ball” form factor.

Concept Development

Image boards were created to inspire the look and feel of the concepts. A range of concepts were created and reviewed with regards to pros and cons. Each concept implemented simple geometry to create a friendly approachable product and integrated ergonomics, preliminary manufacturing and process concepts, and relative cost assumptions. As the initial commercialized product by Rebion, this product would be responsible for establishing the company’s first impression to the market.

System Design

Blinq™ is used both in a medical office environment and at local community sites as part of vision screening programs run by service organizations like the Lions’ Club. The venue for vision screenings varies from schools, to workplaces, to community health fairs. In order to safely transport the components of the blinq™ system, I designed a shoulder bag which doubles as part of the shipping container to ship product to customers. The bag integrates the blinq™ corporate identity, has a space for a tablet or laptop and is customized to fully protect the device to a site via ground transportation or on a plane.

The right fit…

Applied ergonomics and human factors provide user comfort and confidence to intuitively improve scan techniques to repeatedly achieve reliable results in less time.

The display screen angle is optimized to simultaneously allow the user to maintain eye contact with the patient while providing glancing access to the user interface feedback.

Multiple grip zones for scanning and interface with the touchscreen provide user flexibility and fit a wide range of user hand sizes.