The Land of Enchantment provides a highly-skilled, productive workforce with expertise in cutting-edge science and engineering, business, finance, manufacturing, and logistics.
High concentrations of talent in engineering, sciences
Education
3 major research universities
4 comprehensive 4-year institutions
7 independent community colleges
3 cooperative education sites
Specialized learning facilities – 50 locations
133,000 students enrolled in public higher education institutions
40,000 full-time students enrolled in top-tier research universities
Pro-business
22% reduction in corporate income tax (overall tax cut for all industries)
Optional single-weighted sales factor for HQs, manufacturing operations
No gross receipts taxes on manufacturing consumables
Among the lowest property taxes in the nation
Zero inventory tax
Location
Equidistant to ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, California; Houston and Galveston, Texas
Linkages to Canada; three border crossings to Mexico
2-day delivery time to 75% of the U.S
60+ airports; 3 international airports
Highway, rail systems connect ports in Mexico to Santa Teresa port-of-entry
Innovation
Build With Robots partnered with Sandia National Labs to create robots that convert spray disinfectant into a fog-like mist to kill bacteria and viruses.
Respira Therapeutics’ drug/device combo combines its AOS dry powder inhaler device with innovative drug formulation technologies to selectively lung-target an inhaled drug, delivering 60% higher dose to improve the quality of life of more than 35,000 patients diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
WaveFront Dynamics’ diagnostic technology measures the eye dynamically, like a movie; the technology identifies regular refractive errors and irregularities that can lead to a potentially significant reduction in visual function.
The QR145 optical rotary encoder/IP66 is fully enclosed and overcomes cost and performance limitations of other fully enclosed encoders.
It uses a conductive carbon fiber turtle housing that completely encloses the encoder and provides environmental and electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection. It protects the encoder from dust, oil, and water as well as metallic chips, wood dust, or other debris, making it suitable for pharmaceutical and medical production and packaging, CNCs, robotics, and other motion control applications.
The unit can be mounted on motor shafts up to 0.375" in diameter, and bolts to any motor frame. The bearing construction provides extra protection and reliability in applications that produce shock and vibration.
Motion Industries (MI), distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts and a Genuine Parts Co. subsidiary, has acquired Applied Machine and Motion Control Inc. (AMMC), a Kentucky-based supplier of motion control and automation products and services.
“As a premier supplier to the Ohio River Valley area and beyond, AMMC and its talented people will be instrumental in furthering our growth strategy geographically and in the automation arena,” says Motion Industries President Randy Breaux. “In addition to broadening our offerings to customers, their go-to-market approach and line card are very similar to our other MI Automation Solutions Group divisions, to which AMMC will be a nice complement. We are pleased to welcome them to the Motion family.”
MI Automation Solutions Group provides control panels, conveyors, machine vision, motion control, network connectivity, pneumatics, robotics, aluminum extrusion, sensing I/O, and other automation solutions.
Crank Software teamed with Ventec Life Systems to rapidly improve interface control designs to the VOCSN critical care ventilator that it made with General Motors to fill critical COVID-19 needs.
The oxygen concentrator uses a process called vacuum pressure swing absorption (VPSA) to take the room air, pressurize it through a chamber that has a media called zeolite, which absorbs the nitrogen, leaving pure oxygen which is then delivered to the patient, and the cycle repeats.
Photo courtesy of Ventec Life Systems
A5-in-1 portable device, Ventec Life Systems’ VOCSN ventilator can perform five therapies for patients who have lost lung function – ventilator, portable oxygen concentrator, cough stimulator, suction, and nebulizer. As a portable critical care ventilator, VOCSN is ideal for COVID-19 treatment, and as a result the company received a large federal contract in April 2020 to make 30,000 units with manufacturing partner General Motors (see sidebar, page 25).
The multi-function device eliminates constantly disconnecting circuits to switch between devices to breathe, manage airway clearance, and medication delivery. That reduces infection risk and streamlines care with a portable device usable in the comfort of one’s home or in a healthcare facility.
Controlled with an intuitive touchscreen, the device delivers treatments in seconds rather than minutes. And because Ventec is constantly innovating and updating the user interface, the company relies heavily on Crank Software’s Storyboardplatform to tweak graphics and optimize animations. Storyboard provides an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) support for the ventilator, which also allows Ventec to iterate new designs to work through development and maintain easy usability. The platform provides a modern user interface and allows Ventec to focus on speed when it matters most.
Rapid response design features
During the initial COVID-19 outbreak, Ventec was in constant communication with governors and state health officials discussing how it was affecting patients and the critical, immediate need for ventilators. Rather than develop something completely new, the company wanted to take its already proven design and focus on scale to fulfill capacity.
“VOCSN was already in use, and we were already growing our manufacturing capacity month to month, but we knew that we were going to have to significantly increase our capacity to meet the heightened need,” says Chris Brooks, Ventec’s chief strategy officer. “And when you think about responding to a pandemic, where you potentially have non-clinical personnel, as well as doctors and respiratory therapists who are using these devices, you want something that’s very easy to use. All of the original design features that were built into VOCSN came in really handy to the pandemic response.”
They knew they could rely on the Storyboard platform to make design updates and add functionality to the touchscreen application within 30 days.
The VOCSN software now includes preset ventilation functions to better serve the needs of frontline medical professionals fighting COVID-19. Making the necessary changes, Ventec was able to rapidly create, design, test, and validate the new GUI to quickly test, receive approval, and deploy new software.
“For safe operation of the device, it was critical that the touchscreen was intuitive, easy to use, and that it provided the necessary immediate feedback to the user upon touch,” says Brian Edmond, president of crank Software. “Our Storyboard platform enabled them to easily turn all those requirements into a GUI application within their necessary timeframe.”
During the development phase, the software allowed them to create their GUI screens and ensure their design intention was realized. Storyboard’s flexibility allowed Ventec to easily import design files, edit and animate, and quickly begin app development. Instead of facing time delays that can occur when working with developers and having engineers re-code progress on the development side, Ventec’s designers could focus on the graphics and maintenance of the user experience they needed, while the developers worked on the system integration and code.
The platform’s built-in simulator allowed the team to quickly see and interact with the touchscreen application on their desktop, without requiring hardware or the end target device. They were able to prototype screens, test and refine the look and feel on desktops, enabling rapid design iteration and tweaking to improve overall performance.
“They could leverage our system where we’ve already taken care of how it displays to the screen, made sure it’s reactive to the user and displays the content visually,” Edmond adds. “And they could focus on the design and the usability of it and not have to worry about figuring out how to develop, which allows them to shorten their development cycles and focus on other areas that sometimes you would get bogged down.”
Crank’s Storyboard software was also used to build the application that runs the user interface offline. Designed around usability, look and feel, and maximum performance, users receive the necessary feedback while in use.
“The ability to record and know when the therapy was administered, you know what the vacuum pressures look like during that therapy,” Brooks adds. “And you can also now track all five therapies and how they were delivered to better understand what care looks like for the patient, but also be able to better customize their care plans.”
Photo courtesy of Ventec Life Systems
VOCSN is controlled with an intuitive touchscreen operating system that delivers treatments to patients in seconds.
Photo courtesy of Ventec Life Systems
Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo, GM
Completing orders, furthering health safety
While the federal order for 30,000 critical care ventilators was officially completed at the end of August, Ventec continues to manufacture at scale at the Bothell, Washington, and the Kokomo, Indiana, facilities in response to ongoing demand. Brooks goes on to explain how they continue to see requests for ventilators, particularly as flu season begins. Until there is a vaccine, a cure, or other therapeutics for COVID, he expects ventilators to remain part of the public health safety net, ensuring that frontline medical professionals have the tools that they need to take care of patients.
“VOCSN truly was built for exactly this situation. We’re very proud of the team and how they’ve been able to step up and literally work around the clock since February to provide access to VOCSN,” Brooks concludes. “And certainly, partners like Crank have enabled our team to iterate quickly and provide something that can be customized to the task at hand, which in this case has been responding to COVID.”
The MXCubefeatures a high-speed spindle, reinforced rigid steel frame, and mineral-cast machine table, allowing for higher loads of high-speed cutting (HSC) milling with vibration dampening.
The machine’s steel drivetrain operates on 25mm ballscrews, and all axes are equipped with absolute linear scales, delivering micron- level tolerances.
The standard, 60-station automatic tool changer (110-station optional) is externally located and shielded from material debris and dust and includes a five-station toolholder that can be loaded/unloaded while the machine is in operation. The standard sliding cabin door is designed for automation integration, and an easily attached conveyor driven chip management system is available.
Other features include integrated LED machine status lighting, coolant level monitoring, air level monitoring, and space for two internally stored 9L coolant containers. A Renishaw TP-20 probe increases machine accuracy, while a magnetic breakaway aids crash avoidance.
COVID-19’s grip hasn’t loosened, and medical device manufacturers continue to face new design and delivery challenges as they scramble to change business models and ramp production up or down. In this new normal, medical communities and end users rush to purchase products and parts that are suddenly in short supply.
With workflows and usage scenarios in disarray due to social distancing measures, medtech manufacturers must improvise to quickly deliver flexible products and services when financial and employee resources are scarce.
Navigating this frenzied environment is difficult but not impossible. The answer lies in a 4-step process to accelerate design. Systematic design thinking allows companies to adapt in times of crisis or high demand. Even when time and resources are in short supply, these principles can guide users through even the most difficult environments.
1. Listen quickly, carefully
Every product or service, no matter how big or small, has a user experience attached.
Listening doesn’t require conducting an in-depth, multi-month user study – scan social feeds for expressions of need, likes, and dislikes, or interview a small group of end users via short surveys, emails, or phone calls. Insights may dramatically change steps taken. Feedback will point you in the right direction.
For example, Fitbit wanted to move from a fitness-based device into healthcare and chronic condition management. Our design team assessed how to best communicate sensitive information about potential health issues to users. Through interviews with in-home patients, experts in sleep medicine, pulmonologists, and neurologists, we understood users’ complete health journeys – from detecting concerns and screening to diagnosis, treatment, and management. By learning behavior as they self-monitored, assessed, and communicated with clinicians, we helped Fitbit support very specific health needs that would have otherwise been misunderstood.
2. Think big
You might initially be tempted to choose one problem to act on – a broken workflow, a supply dearth, or redesigning a part or device for a different use. Before making changes, consider the end user’s perspective. Of the changes under consideration, ask yourself if they’ll cause negative effects for the user across longer timeframes. Only after considering the whole journey can potential solutions arise.
Zoom out for this by:
Avoiding directly translating what’s heard from an individual while researching a solution
Remembering users communicate problems, not solutions
Reviewing user insights, brainstorming with a multidisciplinary team with different specializations, perspectives
Mapping out user journeys, experiences; thinking outside the box when considering areas of opportunity
An e-commerce client wanted to change their product line. After conducting interviews, we determined their products were sitting in the wrong time frames of a patient-provider relationship, so we suggested an entirely new health services model to reach customers where they were in their health journey. By putting big-picture thinking in place, we could focus on changes needed to existing products.
3. Think small
With the user’s journey mapped and potential solutions envisioned, multiple areas of opportunity may arise. While tempting to tackle several problems at once, don’t. Address the problem with the greatest potentially positive impact achievable within a given timeframe. Focus on a signature experience – something unique to the brand or product – with the most opportunity for growth. Getting this right will strengthen the offering and accelerate the process.
We worked with Ancestry to expand its health category offering, a business goal that entailed an array of challenges. Concentrating on one problem yielded the most impact – a solution to communicate complicated health reports and DNA results in a simple way that still followed strict guidelines and regulations. Focusing on this one signature experience provided consumers with health guidance and support where it mattered most.
4. Think big again
Figure out how your innovation can scale to support the most scenarios – now or in the future. Think about what your roadmap may look like because during a crisis you don’t have time to plan everything. Consider how this design change will impact one person and how to scale to support more variations of this user scenario. Also consider how design changes fit into the business roadmap and viability. Are there new revenue streams? Are there new services? Design is a cycle that never ends, a means to increase value. Products today may need to change and evolve so test to make sure it’s working by listening to users while working on the roadmap.
We assisted GE Healthcare’s electronic medical record and universal imaging experience redesigns. A major objective was to create a robust, scalable design system with an extensible framework, enabling future product design and development at scale. We built a shareable app to demonstrate design improvements. We thought ahead and included templates and components to transcend to other devices, including the Centricity Universal Viewer Medical Imaging Platform, which we later redesigned to improve diagnostics and patient care.
Importance of design
In these uncertain times, when traditional product and service innovation and delivery cycles have been flipped, it’s tempting to think there’s no time to waste on design principles. However, crises and flux make design principles more important than ever. Companies can successfully pivot to rapidly innovate and meet pressing needs, while keeping in mind what products and businesses will need to look like when new normals settle in.
About the author: Ken Olewiler is the principal and managing director of Punchcut. He has consumer expertise in digital health, including wearables, medical devices, and healthcare services and tools.
Posted by Elizabeth Engler Modic
