Outcome

Throughout our project, we have identified questions or topics that we recommend IBEC to explore before settling for one option or establishing the final design.

From a business point of view, there are several market insights that still need to be gathered. We believe that the leasing model would benefit IBEC the most since it will create a stronger relationship with the customer. However, IBEC should explore the willingness from clinics to adopt such a model.

Another aspect worth exploring is understanding the willingness to pay of clinics purchasing new equipment. Equipment tends to be expensive and understanding the thresholds of the different clinics might help IBEC to narrow down their target market or to decide which product configurations to implement.

Finally, only clinics and hospitals have been considered. There might be other potential markets worth exploring such as big laboratories or other research institutes that might have a high volume of yearly cycles or might benefit from having the technology. We firmly believe that these are a market worth exploring too.

To sum up the business dimension, IBEC next steps should be the following: a) conduct a second survey or round of interviews to find the answers to the many concerns cited above, b) check the legal requirements and limitations to launch such a product as this is something that we have not looked at and it could be complicated due to the industry.

Then, engineering wise, the requirements for the prediction algorithm to work are a must to know before any further advances can be done in this aspect of the project. These requirements will determine the compression algorithms that can be used and the storage of the images.

In addition, we would also need to know how the movement of the dishes and microscope to avoid disturbing embryos are affecting microscope stability. This has been something outside the scope of our participation on the project, but it is definitely one basic aspect to consider for the incubator design.

To sum up the engineering dimension, IBEC should be more concrete and define the prediction algorithm, determine technology requirements, and find an actual mechanical solution regarding the design part. We can say that each design option sacrifices on one aspect of the product, so a further understanding of it needs to be reached before the design can get settled on.

To sum up the design dimension, once product needs are refined, IBEC should conduct user testing to gain valuable insights in possible improvements. Finally, although this project did not allow us to dive deeper into the microscope idea, we still believe that it could be a more viable product which IBEC should definitively explore.

Presentation

Download / view presentation