Biotechnology for Health (Biomedical Innovations)

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

Planning a prototype

Turn chosen design criteria into a concrete prototype plan: what to build first, with what, and how to test it against the criteria.

Builds on (2 levels back)inferred · high confidence

Having clear design criteria: A prototype plan must say which criteria it will test, so you need measurable criteria first.
Knowing what a prototype is: A prototype is an early, testable model: not the final product: so the plan should be quick and cheap to build.

Prerequisites are inferred: pending teacher review.

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

A prototype plan turns design criteria into action: it states what you'll build first, what materials you'll use, and how you'll test the prototype against each criterion.

Step 1: Pick what to build first

Choose the simplest version that can test your most important criterion. Don't build everything at once: build the part that answers your biggest question.

Step 2: Choose quick materials

Use cheap, fast materials for an early prototype (cardboard, foam, tape, basic 3D-printed parts) so you can change it easily after testing.

Step 3: Write a test for each criterion

For every criterion, write how you'll measure it. Criterion 'visible from across a room' becomes a test: 'a person 5 meters away can read the screen.'

Practice

A criterion says: 'The grip must be usable by someone with a grip strength of 5 pounds or less.' Which is the best TEST to put in the prototype plan?

Reviewed

A.Ask people if the grip looks nice
B.Have testers with measured grip strength of 5 pounds or less try to hold and lift it
C.Check that the grip is the right color
D.Count how many parts the grip has

Show the worked solution ▾

Answer: B. Have testers with measured grip strength of 5 pounds or less try to hold and lift it

Step 1: Match the test to the criterion: The criterion is about whether weak grips can use it, so the test must involve people with weak grips actually using it.
Step 2: Reject tests that miss the goal: Looks, color, and part count don't measure whether a weak grip can hold and lift the prototype.

Why it's right: Having testers with measured low grip strength try to hold and lift it directly measures the criterion, which is what a good test must do.

Why the others miss:

A: Whether it 'looks nice' doesn't measure usability for weak grips.
C: Color doesn't measure whether a weak grip can use it.
D: Part count is unrelated to whether a weak grip can hold it.

Aligned to Biomedical Innovation: prototype test planning · reading level ~grade 9

Where you'd see this

An innovation notebook page lists each criterion next to the exact test that will check it, so nothing is left to opinion.

Careers that use this

Biomedical Engineer: Writes a build-and-test plan that ties every prototype test back to a specific design criterion.

Video library

Watch: Planning a prototype

The Engineering Design Process: An Eggstronaut Mission

Science Buddies · 5 min

Guided notes

Fill these in as you work through the lesson.

Big idea: A prototype is an early, testable model built to check whether your idea meets the design criteria: so a prototype plan says what you'll build, from what, and how you'll test it against those criteria.

Key terms: write the meaning

Prototype (an early model you can test):
Design criterion (the goal the prototype must check against):
Test plan (how you'll measure if it works):
Iteration (improving after each test round):

The rule

A prototype plan names what you will , what you will build it from, and how you will it against the design criteria.

Check yourself

Why build a cheap cardboard model before the real device?
A prototype is a testable model, not the final product. Name one thing a first prototype can be made of.
Write one test you could run to check if a grip prototype meets 'holdable with weak grip strength.'

Work one example

Your criterion is 'a pill reminder that an older patient can see and hear from across a room.' Write a prototype plan: what to build first (cheap materials), and one test that measures whether it meets that criterion.