Focus | Drug Delivery
Background
eg technology has supported a number of drug delivery development programmes where usability and safety are critical to effective device performance. These programmes have typically involved devices used in complex or time-sensitive clinical environments, where multiple users may interact with the product, including clinicians, nurses and technicians.
In these contexts, device design has a direct influence on how clinical workflows are carried out, from dose preparation and administration through to monitoring and record keeping. Early understanding of these workflows is therefore essential in defining product requirements and ensuring that devices are both practical to use and aligned with the demands of clinical trials and real-world use.
Designing for real-world use is essential in drug delivery, particularly in high-pressure environments where speed, clarity and accuracy are critical.
Challenge
In several of these programmes, early-stage concepts highlighted limitations that extended beyond the device itself and into the surrounding clinical workflow. These included multi-step preparation processes, limited clarity in operation, and the potential for incorrect dosing where device interaction was not sufficiently intuitive.
Such issues can disrupt established workflows, increasing cognitive burden and introducing variability in how tasks are performed. This is particularly relevant in environments where users are managing multiple responsibilities, as well as in high-pressure, often time-critical treatment scenarios, such as emergency care, where inefficiencies or ambiguities in device interaction can affect both performance and consistency of use.
Design development therefore needed to consider not only how the device functioned in isolation, but how it would be integrated into the full sequence of clinical activities. This included preparation, administration, handling and any associated tasks such as training, maintenance or data recording.
Balancing these factors also required careful management of design trade-offs. More compact devices could improve handling but limit space for instructions and labelling, while designs that prioritised clarity could introduce other practical constraints. Addressing these challenges required a structured approach to identifying and mitigating use-related risks within the context of real workflows.
Solution
eg technology applied a structured human factors engineering approach across these programmes, incorporating detailed user interaction and clinical workflow analysis from the early stages of development. Initial work focused on mapping how devices would be used in practice, considering all relevant users and the sequence of activities involved in typical clinical scenarios. This provided a framework for defining product requirements and identifying potential risks associated with use.
Concepts were then evaluated through formative user studies, allowing representative users to interact with devices in realistic conditions. These studies were used to observe how devices fit within existing workflows, where inefficiencies or errors might occur, and how interaction could be simplified or clarified.
Multiple design directions were explored in parallel, enabling comparison of different approaches to usability and workflow integration. Findings from user studies informed iterative refinements to device form, interaction points, instructions and labelling.
Particular attention was given to reducing unnecessary steps, improving clarity at key points of interaction, and supporting more consistent execution of tasks within time-sensitive environments. Where necessary, design changes extended beyond the device itself to include packaging and supporting materials, ensuring that the overall system aligned with intended use.
This iterative, workflow-informed approach ensured that usability, safety and practicality were addressed together, rather than in isolation.
Mapping user workflows & embedding human factors from the outset helps reduce risk and ensures devices can be used safely & consistently in demanding clinical environments.
Result
Across these programmes, eg technology has helped deliver drug delivery devices with significantly improved usability characteristics and reduced potential for use-related error, when compared to current traditional methods.
Design changes supported clearer interaction and more consistent execution of key steps, helping devices integrate more effectively into existing clinical workflows. In practice, this reduced reliance on complex preparation processes and supported more predictable use in time-sensitive scenarios.
By addressing workflow considerations early in development, the resulting designs provided a more robust foundation for clinical evaluation and subsequent deployment. Human factors considerations were embedded within the device architecture, supporting both regulatory expectations and real-world use.
Overall, this work demonstrates eg technology’s technical expertise in applying human factors engineering to improve the safety and usability of drug delivery devices within the context of clinical workflows.
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