Clearing The Hurdles Of Medical Device Prototyping

By Todd Owens and Raghu Vadlamudi, Donatelle

Medical device engineers are tasked with finding straightforward solutions for complex problems that can bring medical devices to market and enrich patients’ lives. However, material costs, functionality, and turnaround times can present mid-design and prototyping impediments to final components and products. This article will illustrate common obstacles in medical device prototyping, tools and techniques used to overcome them, and how the right partner can ensure medical devices are brought to market quickly.

A prototype is the physical actualization of an engineer's idea to solve a problem. It allows for an understanding of how a product will function in actual use prior to creating and investing in production-ready manufacturing processes, keeping costs down. However, if engineers become too cost-conscious and exclude vital features from a prototype, information about the device’s performance that could be essential to the production process is unrealized.

This article presents tools and techniques to overcome them and explains how the right partner can ensure medical devices are brought to market quickly.