IDC Helps Chinese Medical Company Lead Market with Innovative Feeding Device

International product design and development company, IDC (Industrial Design Consultancy), has just developed an enteral feeding device that has enabled Chinese medical manufacturer, XHF, to lead the Chinese market by raising the standard of design and engineering.

IDC was briefed to develop a new enteral feeding system with peristaltic pump head, pressure sensing and precise user control. This was both a new product and market for XHF and they were keen to develop a device that came into market with the highest levels of quality and innovation. A key part of the project was to develop a patient feeding system that could accurately feed liquid food at different rates of flow over set periods of time, with programmable control features. High precision control was important, as some patients would need food delivered slowly over longer periods, while others had a need for short concentrated bursts of food.

IDC came up with concepts based around the use of standard feed tubes and liquid food bags. Hygiene was a key requirement and the team created a novel design which meant the main unit never came into contact with food, to ensure optimum cleanliness. IDC’s industrial designers also focused on making the device’s layout clear and intuitive, with a simple user interface. Lights and alarms were built into the product to warn of any system errors or blockages.

IDC's engineers handled all structural design elements, including the battery, motor, door and stand fixings. The team worked with IDC Models to set up a test rig for the product. They were able to conduct extensive tests of the peristaltic pump head to ensure that the feed line was not susceptible to blockage. This testing was important to understand how the pump worked when patients moved around, causing pressure changes in the feed line, which could potentially cause blockages. IDC's team engineered a clever solution using external tube pressure sensors to detect feed line blockages, which automatically triggered an alarm.

As patients may need the device to be ambulatory, care was also taken to make the device easy to carry with an integrated handle. IDC Models supported this by producing a block model of the device to test handle ergonomics and see how easy the product would be to carry around.

IDC's final design gave XHF an innovative and easy to use pump. The product was extremely successful; IDC enabled XHF to enter a new market segment and become a market leader in China.