01 — STARTING POINT
Reusable control tower
The first concept guided every connection step through one reusable device. It offered control, but added buttons, handling, maintenance, and a demanding cleaning routine.
Transcutan
Reframing the dialysis connection
I led the design direction for a cassette-based concept, using patient and nurse validation to shift the team from reusable complexity toward a simpler single-use system.
Project Overview
Role: Product Design Lead
Duration: 2 years
Scope: Medtech · Usability validation · Product direction
Team: 5 Engineers, Product Manager, Product Specialist, QA
Outcome: Shift toward single-use cassette system
Problem
A critical connection repeated several times per day
Peritoneal dialysis requires patients to connect and disconnect their dialysis system several times per day. Each repeated interaction adds cognitive load, handling steps, and hygiene risk around the catheter connection.
Core idea
Creating a cleaner body interface
The core idea was to replace the exposed tube-based interface on the stomach with a cleaner port. This created the foundation for a cassette-based system that could guide connection and disconnection with less direct handling.
Starting point
An early concept was already in place
The team had already explored a reusable device to guide the connection sequence. My role was to evaluate it through research and usability testing, then lead its evolution toward a simpler solution.
Research
Research revealed where risk appeared
01
Cleaning created uncertainty
The reusable concept introduced concerns around hygiene and maintenance.
02
Key tasks were difficult
Testing revealed confusion around critical connection steps.
03
Simplicity mattered most
The findings pushed the concept toward fewer steps and less cleaning.
Validation
What testing revealed
Throughout the project, we tested evolving concepts with nurses and patients to uncover confusion, hygiene concerns and maintenance burden. Their feedback showed what needed to change.
01
Nurse feedback
Cleaning the reusable component created hygiene uncertainty.
02
Patient testing
Users struggled with key steps in the connection process.
03 — Outcome
Design decision
The concept shifted toward a simpler single-use cassette system.
Concept evolution
From reusable complexity to single-use clarity
The concept evolved through three directions. Each step reduced interaction complexity, cleaning demands, and contamination risk while moving closer to a safer home-treatment solution.
02 — SIMPLIFIED DIRECTION
A smaller reusable cassette
The second direction reduced controls and separated the housing from the treatment interface. The interaction became easier to understand, but repeated cleaning remained unresolved.
03 — FINAL DIRECTION
Single-use clarity
The final direction made the cassette itself disposable. A focused two-button sequence reduced handling around the critical connection point and removed the need to clean a reusable treatment component.
How it works
A guided lid exchange around the critical connection point
The cassette system guides the patient through connection and disconnection by replacing the port lid in a controlled sequence, reducing direct handling around the critical connection point.
Start treatment
01. Attach treatment cassette
02. Press orange
03. Move forward
04. Press white
05. Catheter connected
DIALYSIS ONGOING
DIALYSIS ONGOING
DIALYSIS ONGOING
DIALYSIS ONGOING
DIALYSIS ONGOING
End treatment
01. Attach closure cassette
02. Press orange
03. Move forward
04. Press white
05. Port closed
A simpler interaction model designed around safety and everyday use.
01
Less cleaning
No reusable tool to clean between treatments.
02
Less handling
The cassette guides interaction around the port.
03
Clearer interaction
The product uses a simple button sequence to support correct use.
Roadmap
A phased path from add-on to new standard connection
To make the concept commercially realistic, I presented a phased roadmap showing how the product could move from a compatible add-on to a fully integrated connection system.
Now
01
02
03
FUTURE
01
Compatible add-on
Faster time to market
Works with today’s dialysis setup and lowers adoption risk.
02
Integrated system
Lower adoption friction
Improves the experience while still fitting existing infrastructure.
03
New standard connection
Long-term product opportunity
Replaces the old connection over time and opens up licensing potential.
Outcome
A clearer and safer product direction
The project shifted from a complex reusable tool toward a simpler single-use cassette direction, with a clearer interaction model and stronger alignment between usability, safety, and business opportunity.
01
Single-use cassette
A simpler concept replaced the complex reusable tool.
02
Clearer interaction
A guided, predictable model around the critical connection.
03
Aligned direction
Usability, safety and business opportunity pulling the same way.