Decreasing your Point of Care Instrument Development Costs
The technological capabilities of point of care (POC) instruments have rapidly advanced in the diagnostics industry over recent years. This vigorous progression in the industry has been catalyzed through increased investments by companies involved and the presence of evolving infectious diseases.
The devices which come in either handheld or benchtop form can provide more rapid, cost-efficient results than traditional diagnostic methods. A much more convenient device, therefore, results in more time for doctors and patients to be put towards treatment.
However, even though these devices may be less complex, they require many specifications and a robust team of engineers for them to be designed and developed cost-efficiently. The following provides some critical factors to decrease costs in the development stage of your POC device.
Having an Experienced Development Team
When developing a new POC device it is essential to have the right engineers on the design team to minimize the timeline. Having a healthy mix of experienced engineers results in a collaborative team that uses critical thinking to move a project along with haste.
For example, an engineering team with long-standing development experience together can use past projects as precedent to guide them while simultaneously using the intellectual property they have built over the years. This will be a huge factor in minimizing the timeline. Having quality system engineers with expertise in multiple engineering disciplines such as mechanics, software, systems, etc. allows for the team members to be adaptive and tackle many different tasks during development.
To minimize any chance of delays in development, however, it is crucial to ensure that each team member is in the best position to add the most value to the team by considering all the right constraints of the blooming instrument.
Cross-departmental Collaboration
The earlier other departments are involved in the design and development of a new POC device the better. When there is a tight timeline, for instance, an industrial engineer can identify which pre-existing components are available and ready for use immediately.
On the other hand, the same engineer can identify if the pre-existing components are not a right fit for the POC device and that other parts need to be made from scratch. The development team needs to also understand which long-lead items are needed and the vendors they have access to.
Furthermore, having supply chain specialists begin working with the engineers in development right away decreases the risk of delays and higher labor costs on the project over time.
Having a Manufacturing Mindset During Development
Having a manufacturing engineer work with the design team also encourages the development team to have a manufacturing mindset. A manufacturing mindset is crucial to have starting day one of development. This is because before moving into production, using this mentality causes the team to leverage the latest design for manufacturing or assembly methods which leads to minimizing the number of instrument parts while simultaneously combining their functions.
Specifically, this can be accomplished through a couple of key methods such as injection molding or diecasting. Combining these parts and making them more robust naturally results in decreased costs for the instrument’s parts.
Conclusion
Developing a new point of care instrument while keeping costs low will never be an unchallenging process for any engineering team. But with the use of an experienced team with cross-departmental collaboration and a manufacturing mindset, the device will be timely developed in the most cost-efficient manner for your clients.