Design from the Heart
Left Ventricular Dysfunction is a deadly condition in which the heart can’t pump with sufficient force to push enough blood around the body, leading to heart failure. In an estimated 16 million Americans, it remains asymptomatic and undetectable to any current ECG cardiac assessment tool. The HEMOTAG Cardiopulmonary Assessment System (CPAS) has been designed to be sensitive enough to detect this damage before it becomes deadly. The HEMOTAG CPAS records ECG AND heart vibrations from multiple chest locations; a technology which also provides estimates of Left Ventricular Systolic and Diastolic Function and Pulmonary Artery Pressures. Moreover, HEMOTAG features an iconic, easy to operate, and reusable design that provides instant results via its cloud-based platform. To ensure that all design objectives were met, AventuSoft contacted ROBRADY, confident that the award-winning studio wouldn’t miss a beat.
Effective Elegance
The HEMOTAG required class-leading accuracy as well as usability with different patients, meaning it had to be durable and easily cleaned. Overmolding the entire device with Thermoplastic Elastomer and incorporating pogo pins for charging created an inviting, organic form devoid of any dirt-trapping seams, while still allowing its “arms” to be flexible enough for their sensitive electronics to pick up the most minute vibrations and provide a comfortable fit.
Iconic and Intuitive
That same elegance was reflected in its operation. A single, oversized power button is immediately intuitive and seamlessly integrates into the device’s overall form, while 2 pinpoint LED’s clearly communicate battery and wireless status. An easy-to-use app enables 1-touch cardiopulmonary assessment. When not in use, the device magnetically snaps into a charging cradle.
These simple solutions result in a design that is both highly functional and strikingly beautiful.
The Heart of the Matter
HEMOTAG’s design brings an elegant aesthetic to a medical device with application and appeal for physicians and patients alike. It’s simple, point-of-testing use stands to make accurate and life-saving cardiac assessment a normal part of routine check-ups in the doctor’s office, retail clinic, hospitals, or patient’s home. By giving healthcare professionals and their patients greater and more immediate access to revolutionary cardiopulmonary data via a cloud-connected medical device, HEMOTAG is more than a diagnostic tool, rather a revolution in cardiac patient care.
ROBRADY’s reach did not stop at the progressive design of the HEMOTAG device; it continued on both screen and paper with an intuitive mobile application coupled with elegant packaging design to match. All three design elements brought forth a strong design appeal that enhanced the user experience of HEMOTAG.
Thinking Outside - and Inside - the Box
Many packaging designs and logo variations were created by the ROBRADY graphics team; however, a few must-haves were discussed early on in the design process. The client requested that the package design uphold an elegant, high-end, and medical aesthetic with a clear focus on the reusability of the box itself. Custom boxes were out of the question, causing the design team to create a paper-sleeve design that could be easily removed for shipping purposes.
Designers had to think inside the box, too. The internal structure had to ensure that all elements of HEMOTAG could be housed securely without the risk of damage during shipment. The design team created a di-cut foam interior structure that housed all of the product parts, ensuring that each piece would be secure while in transit to the patient or provider. The final design portrayed elegance with a medical twist, a design that was in line with all requests made by the client.
Application Design
Physical design turned digital with ROBRADY’s role in the enhancement of the HEMOTAG app. The client had a basic skeleton of the application already developed; however, it was lacking a clear style that detracted from its usability. Client AventuSoft knew that by leveraging the studio’s refined design-thinking capabilities, ROBRADY’s graphics team could elevate the app into a user-friendly digital tool that simplified the HEMOTAG experience.
ROBRADY ensured that all expectations were exceeded by focusing on creating an application that offered an intuitive experience that necessitated proper product use. When using the application, patients are first met with a placement guide.
Once the device is properly adhered to the patient, the application displays a loading sequence in the form of an orange ring that turns green as data accumulation progresses. Patients can access instructions from any screen in the app by tapping the question mark icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Through elegant design, the mobile app now allows the user to easily access device placement instructions to ensure accurate data collection in real-time.
