Innovative solution with applying design thinking process: A case study of wireless endoscope for carpal tunnel release

Abstract

Medical device development is very important and challenging for the healthcare industry in this disruptive era. Innovation in medical devices is demanded as it impacts medical treatments and procedures. The design thinking process has been introduced to create a new product development including medical devices. The five stages of design thinking link the users’ empathy to the proof of prototype. Our work aimed to apply the design thinking process to solve the pain points of surgeons when performing carpal tunnel release. The use of wireless endoscope was our idea to tackle the pain points. We successfully showed that our idea, using the design thinking process, could be developed to a prototype, which could be tested in a cadaver. Moreover, further development can be continued from this prototype in a cycle of test, ideate and prototype.