Gladstone, NJ (May 4, 2017) — HS Design is pleased to announce that Canfield Scientific’s VECTRA WB360 has been selected as a finalist in the Radiological, Imaging, and Electromechanical Devices Category of the 19th Annual Medical Design Excellence Awards competition. Finalists were officially announced in the May Issue of MD+DI (Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry) magazine. Winners will be announced at the 2017 MDEA Ceremony held Tuesday, June 13, 2017 in conjunction with UBM’s Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. To learn more about the event, please visit: www.MDMeast.com

HSD has been a long standing partner with Canfield Scientific working towards developing a uniform and aesthetically driven product line.  HSD was tasked with the design of the VECTRA WB360.  The main challenge in designing the WB360 was creating a system to accommodate users that either do not have the space or budget for the entire system.  The end solution was a design that enables configurations for both full body and half body systems.  The VECTRA WB360, equipped with 92 carefully positioned cameras, produces a three-dimensional image of the entire body, precisely replicating body shape and skin features.  These images are an indispensable tool for dermatologists and plastic surgeons, allowing them to more confidently assess a patient’s condition.

The MDEA is the medtech industry’s premier design competition committed to recognizing significant achievements in medical product design and engineering that improve the quality of healthcare delivery and accessibility. The awards program celebrates the accomplishments of the medical device manufacturers, their suppliers, and the many people behind the scenes — engineers, scientists, designers, and clinicians — who are responsible for the cutting-edge products that are saving lives; improving patient healthcare; and transforming medtech — one innovation at a time.

“Being selected as an MDEA Finalist is a testament to the skill, enthusiasm, and innovation of our designers and engineers, who took this product from a skeleton of the prototype to a complete product in less a year.” Tor Alden, Principal, HS Design.

Unlike other design competitions that are merely styling contests, the MDEA panel is comprised of medtech experts, including a balance of practicing doctors, nurses, and technicians alongside industrial designers, engineers, manufacturers, and human factors experts. MDEA jurors comprehensively review entries based on the following criteria: the ability of the product development team to overcome all challenges so the product meets its clinical objectives; innovative use of materials, components, and processes; user-related functions improving healthcare delivery and changing traditional medical attitudes or practices; features providing enhanced benefits to the patient and end-user in relation to clinical efficacy; manufacturing cost-effectiveness and profitability; and healthcare system benefits such as improved accessibility, efficacy, or safety, in addition to providing attention to a critical unmet clinical need.

The 2017 MDEA Juror Panel selected 45 exceptional finalists in nine medical technology product categories. Products were judged based on design and engineering innovation; function and user-related innovation; patient benefits; business benefits; and overall benefit to the healthcare system.

Through the use of scale model making, photorealistic renderings, FMEA analysis, and 3D Occulus mapping, HSD was able to keep the development process moving forward.

 “We are honored that our design contributions to WB360 have received international recognition in this premier awards program.” said Stephen Simantiras, Senior Industrial Designer for HS Design. “The design process was a challenge. There were many changes happening daily to the WB360. On any given day a new component could be added which could change the aesthetic of the product.  With this in mind, both designers and engineers had to develop a plan for flexibility.  Through the use of scale model making, photorealistic renderings, and 3D Occulus mapping, we were able to keep the development process moving forward.”

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at the 2017 Medical Design Excellence Awards ceremony. MD+DI will recognize the finalists and announce the Bronze, Silver, and Gold winners in each of the nine medtech categories, as well as present the Readers’ Choice, Best-In-Show, Lifetime Achievement Awards, and more! RSVP during your MD&M East registration to reserve your ticket. Admission is FREE but donations are encouraged to benefit VentureWell’s BMEidea, a design competition for biomedical engineering university students whose winners will also be announced at the ceremony.

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