Blog
Featured stories brought to you by HSD
Teaching What We Practice | Season 2 Episode 2
At HSD, we are fortunate to work with companies of all sizes. Some of our favorites are start-ups that are just out of the gate. Our passion is working with and teaching entrepreneurs what it takes to start a business and take a product from a concept all the way to...
The State of Medical Device Design 2021
What is the state of medical device design going into 2021? Tor Alden, Principal of HS Design in Morristown, NJ joins host Justin Starbird to discuss as they open Season 2 of the hsDNA Podcast. Tor shared that, having been been in consultancy for over 20 years, he...
A True Love Affair: Human Factors and Safety-Related Risks
The assessment and mitigation of safety-related risks is arguably one of the most important parts of the medical device development process. Every medical device, regardless of its nature or intended purpose, carries health and safety risks of some sort that...
Design vs. Human Factors: Medical Design’s Chicken and Egg
Article: Innovation 2020 Spring - Privitera How do you get a medical device to be easy to use? Great design! How do you reduce risk and prevent injury in medical devices? Design. (There’s even a risk standard that says so: ISO 14971). How does a medical device become...
The Dream, the Reality and the Influence of Science
Tor Alden, IDSA INNOVATION Spring Vol. 40 No. 1, p. 24 https://www.idsa.org/innovation/spring-2020/dream-reality-and-influence-science Whether you believe God or the devil lives in the details, there is no mistaking their influence. The design of medical products is...
Telemedicine and Medical Device Development in the Time of Our Quarantine
The recent need to self-isolate brought by COVID-19 has made telework options a necessity for workers in nearly every industry. Even physicians and other healthcare providers are finding themselves relying on telecommunications to care for their patients. With this...
The Benefits of Appropriate Aesthetics in Medical Device Design
Historically, the stance on aesthetics in medical design has been described as “form follows function.” The outward design of a product always takes a backseat to the simple need for the product to perform its function, often being dismissed altogether. However, with...
HSD Product Development Profile
Hs Design, located in Gladstone, NJ is a product design firm that specializes in creating medical devices. Tor Alden explains, “We felt that we needed to be more than a design firm. We could have been a design firm where other product development firms will come to us...
Who Needs a Product Champion?
At HS Design, we often talk about projects moving forward through design and commercialization. One of the “hidden” steps that is integral to creating a successful project, is a Product Champion. When discussing tools and different aspects of projects that are in...
Why is a Product Champion Important for Start-ups?
For startups, having a Product Champion is critically important to see a new project through from design to commercialization. A Product Champion is someone that's devoted to the product itself. This person is the one responsible for driving the decision to make sure...
Applied Human Factors in Medical Device Design
Dr. Mary Beth Privitera, Research and Human Factors Principal at HS Design and Co-Chair of the AAMI Human Engineering Committee joins hsDNA to introduce her new book titled Applied Human Factors in Medical Device Design. The book began with a recognition of the...
hsDNA – ISO 13485
What is the International Organization of Standard (ISO) 13485? For some firms that develop medical devices, ISO 13485 is really important standard. For others, the standard doesn’t mean much. One thing folks think of is that an ISO certified quality management system...
Product Champion
When companies get started with a new product design project, the first question the HS Design leadership team will ask is, “Who will be your product champion?” Inevitably, the answer is, “What is a product champion?” Most are familiar with a project manager, but the...
Aesthetics in the Design Process
The medical device and life science industries have traditionally taken their design cues from other industries, such as automotive, consumer products, and commercial applications. In some ways, they still do. However, medical device designs are incorporating many of...
Checkpoints to consider for Design
When starting any project, there are checkpoints for design that help drive the end product. At a company like HSD that has always been a medical and life science product development firm, the roots of the company and leadership have always been in design. Design is...