blood pressure cuff
The CEO of Wave Biotech approached us to develop a product demonstrator to attract investors and get market feedback for a new blood pressure measurement device that was easy and fast to use at home.
Wave Biotech was looking for future funding for the device. They needed to prove to investors that they were making progress and that the concept had promise. We created a stand-alone prototype to help this journey. The prototype was used in presentations to investors and advisory groups.
Duration
18 months
industry
expertise
Once investment was secured and the market direction was clear, we developed the device into a minimum viable manufacturable product for Wave Biotech. The minimum viable product gave the Wave Biotech CEO, Niels van Sparrentak, confidence in Tournicare, the outcomes and the highlighted aspects for future product refinement.
outerspace assisted in determining important factors to highlight in minimum viable product development to help keep the initial development costs within the allowable budget. Our team advised the client on the key risks and areas in need of investigation. The outerspace team worked on the early algorithm, format and electronic concept design.
We designed Tournicare to be easily used with one hand by people living at home, in particular for remote locations where access to health care services can be a challenge. The cuff was designed to be a one-size fits all component.
To make the device easy to use, we focused on reducing the number of steps needed to accurately measure blood pressure compared to a traditional sphygmomanometer.
Wave Biotech’s market research revealed that existing home-use sphygmomanometers can be incorrectly used by non-health care workers, resulting in false readings. We designed Tournicare so it would be easy to position on the upper arm, and would give accurate and reliable blood pressure readings.
We investigated different partial arm cuff geometries, inflatable bladder positions and sizing.
outerspace developed proof of principle rigs to help iterate designs quickly and explore mechanical, electronic and firmware variables.
Our multidisciplinary team collaborated on the Tournicare project. The work started with a focus on a concept design for a demonstrator before moving on to minimum viable product development.
The outerspace team worked on the aesthetic and usability issues; the mechanism design, integration of the electromechanical elements; the electronic hardware and firmware. Tournicare was to be a stand-alone embedded product with Bluetooth connectivity.
outerspace integration and project management across the design and engineering disciplines was a large focus.
