In our latest engagement with Respironics, a leader in the home respiratory care market, we faced an interesting challenge: take an intimidating piece of medical equipment–a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine–and make it feel approachable and usable for sleep apnea sufferers. We realized quickly that the use of a CPAP comes with much stigma. Patients are required to wear a cumbersome mask and tube system that simulates breathing during the night. As a result, the treatment helps deliver a regenerating, restful sleep.

We were recently honored with an MDEA Award for our work on Respironic’s REMStar CPAP base station. It got us thinking. With the rapid increase in Point of Care (POC) medical devices, we frequently find ourselves having to translate the aesthetics of in-hospital devices into versions appropriate for consumer use. Below are some guiding principles we use to design solutions that make conditions like sleep apnea or diabetes a smaller part of life:

1. Life Enhancement vs. Life Support

   People do not want to be made to feel sicker that they actually are. Often predicate devices look daunting, scary, and do nothing to make the patient feel better about their condition. One of our main goals when designing a medical equipment is to communicate an appropriate level of seriousness while removing the feel of an intimidating “medical” device.

2. Understanding the Context of Use
   
   As you would expect, doctors instruct patients on how to use their new CPAP machine during normal clinic hours. However, most real-life interactions with the device occur at night when the users are woken from sound sleep. Thus, they often make adjustments in the dark and without using glasses. The interface had to facilitate people making adjustments to the device with their “eyes closed”. Uniquely textured buttons with variable elevations allow users to identify and adjust the correct buttons by touch alone. The primary control knob is large and prominently located so that it is easily found, and detents allow the user to “count off” the level of adjustment by feel.

3. Simplifing the Interface
   
   Many CPAP users are mature and afraid of electronic gadgets. When treatment starts, there are a set of pre-programmed variables that are only adjusted by clinicians. Most patients will never interact with those functions during day-to-day treatment. With the new device clinicians program the custom patient setting and then hide the display and setup interface under a hinged door leaving only the minimal patient adjustment controls visible. This removes any sort of patient anxiety about accidentally changing settings or altering their prescribed treatment

4. Reducing Stigma
   
   One of the main impediments to compliant usage of a CPAP is the patient’s anxiety about revealing their condition to others by prominently displaying a large piece of intimidating medical equipment on their nightstand.To address this issue, the design team developed a device that had appealing, peaceful, and calming design cues. The design language of the machine mimiced high-end home electronics by using softly curved surfaces and a rich but fairly neutral color palette . As a measure of our success, a study published in the June 2005 issue of Chest showed that patients using a REMstar Pro used their therapy an average of 1.7 hours longer per night than patients on CPAP after three months. And the difference in adherence widened over time.

5. Recognizing Regional Aesthetics
   
   One shoe does not always fit all. While designing the RemSTAR, the team was aware that the main markets for it were in Europe and Asia. Thus, the platform needed to have universal appeal. A global aesthetic preference study allowed us to understand the aesthetic drivers for each market. We then blended those to create an aesthetic that would satisfy the greatest number of Respironics’ stakeholders.