Opti-Lights Medical Device
Medical Device Design
My team and I were partnered with Dr. Harcharan Gill, a urologist at the Stanford Hospital, in order to develop a new surgical lighting system. As a urologist, he needed to be able to see into small cavities behind other organs and bones, and wasn't satisfied with the current technology, which creates shadows and is bulky, heavy, too far away from the surgical site, and hard for doctors to control independently (currently controlled by nurses).
Product:
Current technology: heavy, expensive, too-far away, doctor cannot control it, creates shadows. We decided to go with simplicity as being key for ease of use and robustness
Opti-Lights is a simple, lightweight and inexpensive frame worn on the head or placed over a surgeon's glasses. It is easily disposable or can be easily sterilized.
The frame contains a bright LED on either side of the frame, which are directed to intersect at a point 2 feet away from the doctor along his eyeline, so that the light follows his eyes wherever he looks and is focused on the surgical site (on avg. 2 feet away from doctor)
My Work:
User Interviews: carried out interviews with Dr. Gill to understand surgical device regulations and incorporate his needs into design idea
Sketching & Ideation: Goal was to be as broad as possible and produce the most ideas possible
Prototyping: I prototyped a wrist-light concept, including a wrist-strap and circuit
Design & CAD: I developed the CAD model for the final prototype to be 3D printed
Learning:
I learned a lot about considerations that go into developing medical devices that are not constraints in other industries. In addition, I learned to really push myself to ideate as much as possible, gaining an understanding of how to use the design process for seemingly complex problems.