Phlebotic Assistant

A revolutionary healthcare device for fingertip blood collection.

Project

Phlebotic Assistant

Client

Lets Get Checked

LetsGetChecked is a virtual healthcare company that allows customers to manage their health from home, providing direct access to laboratory tests with at-home sample collection kits.

In 2020 we worked closely with their in-house R&D team on the Phlebotic Assistant (PA); a revolutionary device for fingertip blood sample collection. The PA combines vibration with a gentle tourniquet, dramatically improving blood flow at the sample site.

We were responsible for UX and Industrial Design. This combined detailed anthropometry and usability testing with physical product design and DFM.

Designing for Intuition

How could we design for intuitive placement & usage when the object is so fundamentally unfamiliar?

Early prototypes from the internal team were regularly placed incorrectly on the finger. This was combined with user confusion over how the vibration was controlled.

To uncover the solution to these key UX challenges we engaged in deep user testing. Over 12 different prototypes were built and tested with a cohort of 25 representative users.

Designing for Approachability

The answer to the placement challenge was a gently curved overall shape, mimicking the bend of a finger. This eliminated errors in positioning almost completely and significantly improved UX in the process.

This unlocked the overall design of the product. Throughout the physical design and development phase we combined this form with a soft approach to detailing, aiming to bring familiarity and approachability to an inherently unusual object.

As of June 2021 the finished PA is now shipping with Letsgetchecked kits.

Credit: All studio photography & video courtesy of Lets Get Checked, reproduced with kind permission.