Development of a medical device for diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor dysfunctions

Development of a medical device for diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor dysfunctions

Op de Macks, F.L.

Van Heur, R.J.H.G. (mentor)
Freudenthal, A. (mentor)
Pelger, R.C.M. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Integrated Product Design

2011-12-07

This graduation thesis describes the development of a system for the diagnosis and treatment of Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions, such as urinary incontinence, bowel problems, pain, pelvic prolapse and/or sexual dysfunction. The assignment was initiated by MAXAM Medical, a start-up company consisting of Fiebke Op de Macks (author of this thesis) and ir. Jeroen Voorham. Suffering from Pelvic Floor Dysfunction can be very disabling and has an enormous impact on the patient’s Quality of Life. Currently over 180M people in Western countries suffer from a Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. A possible treatment method for these dysfunctions is Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy. MAXAM Medical is developing a system for diagnosis and treatment of Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions, which will assist Pelvic Floor Physiotherapists. As a result of this graduation thesis, this system will aid the process in an accurate and effective manner, providing innovative and qualitative health care. To develop a system that closely meets end-users’ needs and requirements, a Human Centered Design approach was used. Feedback from future end-users was actively used in the analysis, design and simulation phases of the project. During an analysis of currently used diagnosis and treatment equipment, the functions of Pelvic Floor Physiotherapists, their habits and problems became clear, providing valuable design input. This input was used for the system development, during the design phase of this project. As part of an iterative process the design was thoroughly tested with the help of future end-users, which resulted in a system that meets the express needs of the market. In the past decade, it has become apparent that usability alone does not provide people with everything they want when it comes to (new) products. People want products and services that add value to their daily lives. As products mature, they not only become more useful and usable tools, but they also require other qualities to be (commercially) more distinctive and satisfying. An entirely new user experience was created in this graduation thesis to meet these requirements. To be able to develop this new user experience, the Service, Technology, Organization and Finance (STOF) method was used. It is a design method that is developed especially for the creation of successful services and offers a step-by-step approach towards creating a balanced and secure business model. To conclude the thesis, a market analysis was performed of Europe and North-America, identifying the most interesting market entry countries. A strategic plan that MAXAM Medical should devise in order to achieve a successful market entry is proposed, together with recommendations for continuing innovation, development and testing of new functions to keep the system user’s experience and output at a high level.

pelvic floor dysfunction
medical device

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:72ad9284-cb6c-42d7-9c9c-b09bd77803ec

2012-12-07

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2011 Op de Macks, F.L.