Brainstorming – This is one of the Tools that is most commonly leveraged among all disciplines, and Starfish encourages active participation with our innovative multi-disciplinary teams. The first and most important part of a brainstorm session is to ensure that we are asking the ‘right’ question. It is also useful to try on different approaches, and some may seem to be a little wacky at first. Most out-of-the-box solutions are failures, but sometimes when a problem is turned on its ear, the dollars will start flowing in!
Leveraging Existing Technologies and Products – Sometimes a difficult problem to be solved, already is! By conducting investigations on the USPTO website, or FDA 510(k) databases related to broadly similar devices, solutions can be discovered. The application of an industry standard device in audio equipment to the medical field is quite often a patentable approach. In fact, many medical innovations are application of an existing medical device to a new Intended Use. The cost and time savings are well worth the effort!
Low Fidelity Prototyping – The use of cardboard, urethane foam, 1:1 CAD drawings, and even around the office props provide a rapid and effective means to determine initial fit, form and functionality requirements. This is particularly useful for things that are difficult to model, such as cable management or hand grips in unusual orientations.
Rapid Prototyping – Starfish is a leader in the medical device space in the use of Steriolithography (SLA) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography], Selective Laser Sintering [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering] (SLS), and Rapid CNC machining. Advances in this area over the last decade have provided significant improvements in cost and material properties that have opened a variety of possibilities for designers. Many of these models are ‘looks-like’, and ‘works-like’ devices that investors seek in the early stages of a project. In a recent project, a toaster sized device went from a sparkle in an Industrial Designers eye to a full sized device, complete with touch screen, cabling, functional doors, and many other features in just two weeks – including the design! For simpler devices, turnaround times can be reduced to less than half of this; complete with paint and other cosmetic features incorporated.
Optimization through Modeling – Exploiting the latest technological tools such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Mold Analysis, Optical Raytrace Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Simulated Fatigue Analysis, and Simulated Drop Testing can all provide a quick answer or optimization to problems that would otherwise be difficult to resolve through first principles calculation/analysis. These tools are particularly useful prior to investing in tooling, expensive prototypes, or the like.
