Development of new products is an innovative activity which includes the process of recognizing, creating and delivering new values or benefits of a product.
It is important to emphasize that in this process we are especially dedicated to developing products adjusted to your needs. This means that, in cooperation with our customers, we design products that are not inluded in our standard production programme and which meet their specific requirements. We mostly cooperate in such manner with hospitals and privately-owned polyclinics, pharmaceutical industry and distributors.
In the text below read more about how we, in cooperation with Pula General Hospital, have designed the appearance and function of the prone positioning pillow; how we have established its economic benefits, estimated the production capacities and developed and tested the prototype.
What does a tailor-made product mean for Meditex?
Initiative for developing a new product comes from health-care institutions in cases when there is a difficulty in dealing with a specific situation, all with a purpose of providing the highest possible quality of health care for a patient. To reach this goal, both parties need to create an effective work environment. Direct and close contact that we establish with a customer is of utmost importance in this process. Our cooperation begins by our sales representative meeting the head nurse or head technician of the hospital ward and then they agree upon the appearance, purpose and function of the product.
Strategy of development of new products is a challenging process. All divisions of our company are included in this process. Strategy entails studying the risks and possibilities offered by the environment, including the analysis of advantages and shortcomings of the available resources.
Phases of development of a new product
The process of development of a new product is carried out in several phases. After we have gathered all ideas about a new product, we evaluate each of the ideas and we select the ideas that are most suitable for achieving a goal we have set with regard to the new product. After that, we establish the economic benefit of the product for the customer, calculate the price of the product, estimate the manufacturing capacities needed and predict the costs. Finally, we develop the prototype and carry on testing.
Design of the products relates to the unity of aesthetics and functionality. We find it extremely important to ensure quality, that is, the ability of the product to fulfil a purpose for which it is designed and this implies, among other things, durability, reliability, accuracy and the ease of handling.
How we helped Pula General Hospital – from first contact to successful cooperation
We initiated the design of the prone positioning pillow in cooperation with the Respiratory Unit of Pula General Hospital in the autumn of 2021. A need for such pillow arose after the world had faced new medical challenges brought by the SARS – CoV-2 virus. Patients infected with this virus, who are treated in the intensive care units and need help breathing due to lung damage, have high mortality rates. A mechanical ventilator provides them with such help.
In conditions such as pneumonia, the lungs have both normal and damaged areas. The recovery of damaged areas require a certain amount of time during which a patient may need the help and support of mechanical ventilation. Ventilation of a person lying in prone position (on their stomach) instead of lying on their back (supine position) may enhance the work of the machine and thus reduce the side-effects.
In such cases the patients were positioned in the prone position for several hours and several pillows were placed under them to ensure a proper position and therefore adequate ventilation. The procedure of putting the patients in the prone position was highly impractical and difficult both for medical staff and the patients. There was a need to design a product that would facilitate the process of medical treatment for all participants.
The head of the Respiratory Unit has therefore designed a sketch of the pillow and, after defining the dimensions and materials, we began manufacturing. The result of this cooperation is a pillow made of two types of sponge material: bottom part is made of firm sponge material and upper part of the pillow is made of memory foam that eases the pressure on predilection sites (areas with high risk of decubitus). The pillow is covered in water-repellent polyester and polyurethane fabric that has been treated for fungi, mould and bacteria.
The pillow has made it easier for medical staff to put the patients in the prone position, and ensured better ventilation for the patients. Since we have thus achieved a common goal, the product has been presented to other hospitals as well and is now being used in the University Hospital Centre Zagreb, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases Fran Mihaljević Zagreb, University Hospital Dubrava, University Hospital Sveti Duh, University Hospital Centre Split, University Hospital Centre Osijek and Šibenik General Hospital. In addition to this, the development of this product has prompted us to develop a pillow for the prone positioning of the head, which is now also being used in the intensive care units.
Contact us for the development of professional medical equipment
Based on the examples described above, we wanted to give you insight into our process of product development and point out that we can do the same for you should you have a need for a tailor-made product. Regardless of whether you already have a sketch of a product or you want to know more about our offer, feel free to contact us and we will set a meeting on the terms that best suit you.
