Two medical devices are the winners of the 2006 User-Centered Product Design Award. Submitted entries are judged in terms of application of Human Factors process and the effectiveness of the resulting design. There was actually a tie this year between two medical devices:
The winning devices are the Medtronic Straightshot M4TM Microdebrider and Hospira's Symbiq™ Infusion System. Contributing to the winning designs were Metaphase Design Group (Straightshot M4 Microdebrider) and HumanCentric Technologies, Inc. (Symbiq Infusion System).
As a committee judge I can tell you that the overall quality of entries has increased over the years, a sign that HF and user-centered design has a growing presence in industry.
-Rob Tannen
