Ahead of the marcus evans Medical Device Manufacturing Summit 2021, Iain Ansell discusses the future of digital health and how manufacturers can ensure connected devices are user centric

1. Interview with: Iain Ansell, Consult-
ing Director, Team Consulting
“COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption
of digital and remote care, and there is
still a lot of potential for manufacturers
to ride this trend with new solutions,”
says Iain Ansell, Consulting Director,
Team Consulting. “However, the rules
governing how successful a connected
device is have not changed. A connect-
ed development should be user centric
from the outset,” he notes.
Team Consulting is a service provider at
the marcus evans Medical Device
Manufacturing Summit 2021.
The pandemic has accelerated the
adoption of digital and remote care.
What does this mean for medical
device manufacturers? What is the
potential of digital health solutions
and digital connectivity?
While connectivity has been a hot topic
in the industry for some years now,
COVID-19 has done much to accelerate
this, including a 25 percent surge in the
number of health app downloads. Such
a trend towards digital health has
offered a timely opportunity for many
medical device manufacturers looking to
develop connected devices. We saw a
great example of this in early 2020
when one of our start-up clients
completed their development of an
all-in-one hearing device that uses
smartphone technology. The original
idea behind the connected device was to
support the democratization of health-
care, allowing both specialist and non-
specialist users to offer patients the full
ear clinic closer to their communities.
When COVID-19 hit, they saw a mas-
sive acceleration in the use of their
device, as hospitals were looking for
new ways to ease pressure on their
services and reach their patients outside
of traditional care settings.
Of course, demand was not the only
factor at play in the success of this
connected device. The client had been
concentrating on building a great digital
experience from the outset, both
embedded in the product and in the
associated app, which was key to
enabling more traditional users. The
product needed to work well in terms of
usability, allowing a less experienced or
less qualified user to feel confident
enough to do the job, compared to the
years of traditional medical training that
came before.
How can manufacturers ensure a
connected device is user centric?
If we look back in time, the first
connected devices were largely aimed at
collecting data, often with a focus on
using this to make improvements to
designs or finding ways to sell it for
commercial gain. The push towards
connectivity started as a commercial
and technological concern, however the
question should really be, what is in it
for the end user? New technologies can
demand extra steps and more effort for
the end user or stakeholder, so it is
important to highlight the benefits of
using such a device compared to a
simpler alternative. Digital technology
offers a variety of ways to support the
user, from the onboarding and unboxing
experience, right through to actually
delivering the therapy.
Manufacturers need to make sure they
convey these benefits to the user to
ensure users opt in.
What are some of the human
factors that are often overlooked in
the connected world? What impact
could they have on product success
or failure?
We can’t ignore the fact that more and
more companies are now offering apps
to consumers, which can quickly lead to
users becoming frustrated with having
unnecessary clutter on their phones.
Manufacturers need to consider the
value of building their own standalone
apps, or whether they can build into an
existing, widely used platform, such as
Apple Health. Creating a new app can
also add extra challenges for users, in
particular for vulnerable or technically
adverse user groups, as it requires them
to learn a whole new platform. It is
therefore worth considering partnering
with another app developer to integrate
with something more accessible and
known.
What is your outlook on the future
of connected devices, connectivity
and remote care? Can connected
devices replace face-to-face? Or will
things return back to how they were
before the pandemic?
COVID-19 accelerated a change towards
digital and remote care that was already
taking place. Remote care is not going
away, but it is unlikely that digital will
replace face-to-face, especially for
certain conditions.
If we look at skin cancer for example,
there is currently no substitute for a
physical doctor being there to examine
the patient. Despite this, digital has a
lot of potential to support users in a
variety of ways, including user onboard-
ing, improving the efficiency of the
physical interaction with the device, and
helping patients to track their medica-
tion. It can also be used to give people
immediate feedback and assurance that
they are carrying out self-care correctly,
as opposed to waiting to see a doctor.
Rather than replacing the current
system entirely, what we can hope to
see is a greater integration of digital
care with traditional care. We might
begin to see doctors making the images
and data they collect for diagnosis
accessible to the patients online for
example. Such a change would allow
the patient to track their own health
progress and feel more invested in their
treatment.
In this way and many more, digital
technologies have the potential to make
healthcare more efficient and accessible
to patients, however it is unlikely to
replace seeing a doctor in person
entirely.
The Potential of Digital and Remote Care Post-Pandemic
Remote care
is not going
away

2. About Team Consulting
Team Consulting is a 100% medical focused design and development consultancy that works across the pharmaceutical and
healthcare industries. Combining their expertise and experience in industrial design, engineering and human factors, Team
develops medical devices from early concept through to commercial launch. With clients ranging from the largest Pharmacos to the
newest start-ups in the US, Europe and beyond, they follow a user-centred design approach to ensure your users get a product
they love, while you get a competitive advantage. ISO 9001:2000 and 13485:2003 certified, Team employ thorough quality
systems to help your product through the regulatory process.
www.team-consulting.com
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss
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For more information, please visit: www.marcusevans.com
To view the web version, please click here:
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About the Medical Device Manufacturing Summit 2021
The Medical Device Manufacturing Summit is the premium forum bringing together
senior medical device manufacturing executives and leading solution providers. The
Summit offers an intimate environment for focused discussion on cutting edge
technology, strategy and implementation of solutions to forward-thinking medical
device companies interested in staying ahead of the market.
www.medicalmanufacturingsummit.com
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