Co-Designing an Assistive Device with Clinicians
Why starting in the clinic — not the lab — produced a device people actually use.
The Challenge
Assistive and rehabilitation devices are frequently abandoned — not because they fail technically, but because they don't fit the daily reality of the people meant to use them. Comfort, setup time, maintenance, and workflow all decide whether a device lives or gathers dust.
The Approach
We treated clinicians, caregivers, and users as design partners from the first sketch:
- Field observation to understand real routines and constraints
- Co-design sessions to shape the device around actual needs
- Rapid, rough prototypes to invite honest feedback early
What Changed
Designing in context surfaced constraints no spec sheet captured — and led to decisions about comfort, maintenance, and simplicity that a lab-first process would have missed.
Outcome
A device shaped by the people who use it — more comfortable, more maintainable, and far more likely to be adopted and kept.
The clinic isn't where we validate ideas. It's where we get them.
Let's Build Practical Healthcare Innovation Together.
Whether you are a hospital, researcher, clinician, university, investor, NGO, or technology partner, Vygux is open to collaborations that advance affordable and human-centered biomedical innovation.