Biotechnology for Health (Biomedical Innovations)

Unit 3: Problem 3: Designing a Medical InnovationBI 3.1Biomedical Innovation: design & feasibility

Defining a design problem

Turn a vague complaint about patient care into a clear problem statement with measurable design criteria.

Builds on (2 levels back)inferred · high confidence

Telling a real need from a wish: A design problem starts from a documented need (who is affected and how), not from a product idea you already like.
Observing the people who would use it: You can only write a true problem statement after you observe the user, their setting, and what currently goes wrong.

Prerequisites are inferred: pending teacher review.

Re-learn the skill with worked practice and clear examples.

A design problem has three parts: a problem statement (who + what goes wrong + why it matters) and a list of design criteria (measurable goals) plus constraints (hard limits).

Step 1: Write the problem statement

One clear sentence naming who is affected, what currently goes wrong, and why it matters. Example: 'Older patients living alone miss medication doses, which sends some to the emergency room.'

Step 2: List design criteria

A criterion is a goal a good solution should reach, written so you can check it: 'reminds the patient within 10 minutes of dose time,' 'usable by someone with weak eyesight.'

Step 3: Separate criteria from constraints

A constraint is a hard limit you cannot break: 'costs under $40,' 'no internet required.' Mixing the two is the most common mistake on this skill.

Practice

A team writes: 'Hospital patients with weak grip drop their water cups, so they stop drinking enough.' Which item below is a measurable DESIGN CRITERION for the cup they will design?

Reviewed

A.The cup should be nice
B.The cup must be holdable with a grip strength of 5 pounds or less
C.Patients drop cups
D.Make it however you want

Show the worked solution ▾

Answer: B. The cup must be holdable with a grip strength of 5 pounds or less

Step 1: Recall what a criterion is: A criterion is a goal you can check: it should be measurable or testable.
Step 2: Test each choice: 'Nice' and 'however you want' can't be measured; 'patients drop cups' restates the problem. Only the grip-strength goal can be tested.

Why it's right: A grip strength of 5 pounds or less is a measurable goal you can test, which is exactly what a design criterion must be.

Why the others miss:

A: 'Nice' is vague and cannot be measured or tested.
C: This restates the problem; it is not a goal for the solution.
D: This sets no goal at all, so it cannot be a criterion.

Aligned to Biomedical Innovation: design criteria · reading level ~grade 9

Where you'd see this

An innovation notebook page has two columns: 'Criteria (goals)' and 'Constraints (limits)': so the team can grade any later prototype against them.

Careers that use this

Clinical Product Manager: Turns messy clinician complaints into a one-page problem statement and a checklist of criteria the engineers must hit.

Video library

Watch: Defining a design problem

Engineering design process | Partner content | 49ers STEAM education | Khan Academy

Khan Academy Partners · 4 min

Guided notes

Fill these in as you work through the lesson.

Big idea: A good design problem names WHO has the problem, WHAT goes wrong now, and the measurable criteria a good solution must meet: all before you pick a device.

Key terms: write the meaning

Problem statement (one sentence: who + what + why it matters):
Design criterion (a goal the solution should reach):
Constraint (a hard limit you may not break):
Stakeholder (anyone affected by the problem or the solution):

The rule

A strong problem statement says who is affected, is going wrong now, and the design must achieve to count as a success.

Check yourself

Rewrite 'make a better wheelchair' as a problem statement that names the user and what goes wrong now.
A criterion is a goal you want to reach; a constraint is a limit you cannot break. Give one of each for a hospital pill dispenser.
Why is 'design a cool app' NOT a usable design problem yet?

Work one example

Nurses say older patients keep forgetting which pills to take and when. Write a problem statement (who + what goes wrong) and list two design criteria a good reminder device must meet.