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New medical device designed by º£½ÇÖ±²¥ academic

A º£½ÇÖ±²¥ lecturer has been working with a biomedical test technology company to design an innovative new piece of hospital equipment.

The new patient simulator has been developed by Peterlee-based Rigel Medical (part of the Seaward Group) with the help of Mark Beckwith, a senior lecturer in industrial design in the University’s School of Design, Culture & the Arts. Only a few weeks after being launched, the device is already attracting interest from markets in the Far East, USA, Germany and the UK.

The PatSim200 is Rigel’s simplest, fastest and most cost-effective patient simulator yet. It puts medical equipment through its paces by mimicking the most common vital signs of patients, such as body temperature, blood pressure, heart-rate and respiration.

These tests are vital for highlighting faults with medical equipment in hospitals and healthcare facilities, ensuring that the monitors are accurate in real patient situations.

Mark has more than 25 years’ experience in new product development and has previously collaborated with Rigel to design a number of different medical products.

From agreeing the project parameters and brief with Rigel Medical this latest project involved six months’ design, development, and prototyping work.

Mark said: 'Once I was given the technology, I looked at the aesthetic of the design to ensure that it was saleable and good to look at.

'The second part of the project was ensuring that it could be manufactured economically and easily assembled in the factory.

'I’m very pleased with the final design; it is already proving popular with the NHS. Rigel has received interest in the product from the USA and Malaysia only two weeks after the initial launch.

'Working on live projects like this really helps inform my teaching, as it is very important to keep abreast of changes in the industry and real-life experience is the best way to do that.'

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