When Curbell Medical decided to enhance the ergonomic design of their standard, low-cost nurse call button specifically for older patients, they enlisted the expertise of Daedalus for human factors and industrial design support. Curbell had already conducted tests with potential users using different designs, but the results were inconclusive, and a definitive design had not yet emerged.
Our human factors specialists created a guidance document that outlined recommendations for the cylindrical grasp and the push-button designs, as well as tactile, audible, and visual feedback tailored to older adults. These recommendations drew from established medical device ergonomic guidelines such as ANSI/AAMI HE75:2009, among other relevant sources. Simultaneously, our industrial designers delved into the Curbell research findings. They meticulously analyzed each concept's individual attributes and evaluated participants' positive and negative reactions to them. Through a strong emphasis on collaboration, our designers and researchers leveraged the positive attributes identified from the Curbell design variations and the human factors guidance we developed, resulting in the generation of concept ideas that seamlessly combined the most favorable features to create an improved design solution.