The medical device industry is a growing and highly competitive field, with many players ranging from large multinational corporations to innovative startups. The global market was worth around USD 471 billion in 2020 and is predicted to grow around USD 623 billion by 2026–a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 5%. (source)
In such a competitive landscape, the success of new devices relies heavily on their ease of use for patients.
A healthcare client asked us:
Do patients understand how to interact and use our new at-home medical device?
Our client was preparing to launch a new at-home medical device in an international market. As a step along the journey to market approval, our client needed to demonstrate that the device was intuitive and easy-to-use among their target customers.
We Answered:
AnswerLab designed a usability study with 18 participants who had been diagnosed with a specific medical condition who would be using their medical device. We also recruited some participants who were bilingual and completed the study tasks in another language to ensure the device’s language features worked accordingly.
We conducted this international research in-person with structured task-based interviews where participants were asked to use the device to complete a series of key tasks. Our UX researcher observed participants’ interactions with the device and its interface, noting task completion and any difficulties they encountered within the user interface. We also conducted brief post-task interviews to collect feedback about the participant’s experience to inform future product development.
To ensure the device was meeting expectations, the client wanted to confirm that participants could successfully complete a series of selected critical tasks, including onboarding and interacting with the interface at key milestones.
Our client team also wanted to understand information about the user experience to inform future development. To achieve this, we also had participants attempt non-critical tasks on the device and observed their experience.
Outcome:
Through this study, AnswerLab captured insights on participants’ success completing critical and non-critical observed usability issues. Not only did we help our client ensure the device met usability needs ahead of a new international market launch, but we also provided critical insights on how to create a better patient experience at-home in future iterations of the interface.
AnswerLab provided findings and deliverables, including:
- A detailed report outlining task success metrics and observations on the participant reactions with the device
- Qualitative participant feedback to inform future development and improvements
- Product recommendations focused on ease of use
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To learn more about UX research for healthcare, check out our article, Impactful Healthcare UX Research: Best Practices for Recruiting, Moderation, and Analysis.
