Contextual Inquiry in MedTech: Observe Before You Build

Paul Charlebois and Eric Olson are seated across from each other at a white table in a modern office setting. The man on the left has curly brown hair and is wearing a light blue button-up shirt. He is smiling and looking toward the man on the right, who has short gray hair, glasses, and is wearing a dark patterned shirt with a small microphone clipped to his collar. The background is a bright, blurred open-plan office with desks and chairs, creating a soft focus effect behind the subjects. A blue pen and a blurred stack of folders or documents are on the table in the foreground.
Resources

Contextual Inquiry in MedTech: Observe Before You Build

What makes a MedTech product truly successful? In this episode of Before the Build, Paul Charlebois and Eric Olson explore how contextual inquiry in MedTech drives smarter product design. By observing how users interact with devices in real settings, product teams can gather early insights that shape usability, adoption, and safety—long before development begins.

What Is Contextual Inquiry?

Contextual inquiry is a form of user research where developers observe users in their natural environments. For MedTech, this means watching clinicians, patients, or operators interact with technology in clinical or home settings. This research helps teams identify pain points, workflow gaps, and usability issues that traditional interviews may miss.

How Contextual Inquiry Supports Product Success

Applying contextual inquiry in MedTech allows teams to validate product concepts through real-world insights. Instead of assuming what users need, you observe how they think and behave. This method supports:

  • Reduced development risk
  • Better usability from the start
  • Evidence-based design decisions
  • Faster alignment with regulatory expectations

Before the Build: A Strategic Start

At StarFish Medical, contextual inquiry helps our teams and clients align early on product requirements, regulatory needs, and market fit. Paul and Eric discuss how this approach improves regulatory approval odds, speeds adoption, and supports commercial success.

From observing tool use in operating rooms to understanding home care routines, these insights guide MedTech design strategies with precision and purpose.

Learn more about StarFish Medical.

A hospital patient lies in bed with a blurred background of medical equipment; bold text reads “Empathy in Design” across the top.

Translating Emotion into Empathetic Medical Design

What does empathetic medical design really look like in practice? Eric and Paul discuss how emotional insight from field research can profoundly impact the design of medical devices

A disposable medical syringe is pointed toward a small pile of pennies, with a red dotted arrow connecting them. The text overlay reads, “So cheap. So complex.”

How Syringe Engineering Enables Precision at Scale

Despite costing just pennies, syringes pack an extraordinary amount of design and manufacturing complexity. From precision-molded barrels to breathably sealed packaging, these tools are more than meets the eye.

A healthcare professional in a sterile gown and gloves holds an endoscope, with a red arrow pointing toward the device. Beside it, a handheld cleaning brush is shown, symbolizing the manual cleaning process. Text overlay reads “Not sterile. Just safe?”

Understanding Endoscope Reprocessing

Ariana and Mark examine the complexities of endoscope reprocessing, one of the most difficult tasks in medical device hygiene.

Technician operating a custom aluminum-framed drop test rig with a white platform and green background wall.

Medical Device Drop Testing in Action

Medical device drop testing helps ensure that products and packaging survive real-world handling. We demonstrate in-house drop testing on an actual device and its packaging using a custom-built drop tester.