Abstract
This study shows an application of the Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Methodology in the field of medical engineering. This research aims to demonstrate the application of a systematic design approach in the development of the “Ocane”, an innovative concept of smart cane for visually impaired patients which was thought of in answer to the end user’s needs, deploying an easy to transport, locate, and adjust element with ultrasonic sensors and tactile feedback. DFSS is an analytical design methodology meant to organize project workflow in a sequence of specific steps. Other standardized design procedures such as Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Stylistic Design Engineering (SDE) have been used to support DFSS in terms of targeting customer requirements and focusing on aesthetics for ergonomics analysis, respectively. First, the QFD process is introduced and applied to gather the final customer needs, completing the analysis with benchmarking and similar-thought products on the market. Afterwards, a description of the DFSS methodology and application to the case study was deployed. Thereafter, the SDE procedure is exposed by identifying the “Ocane” concept and development, and moving towards the completion of an inventive product with a creative design and careful attention to visually impaired clients’ requirements.
Highlights
IntroductionIn order to design a useful product that satisfies the blind populations’ requirements and supports visually impaired independency and safety in everyday life, careful effort was put into an extensive review of scientific literature and dedicated commercial products
This research study is meant to address the power of the Design For Six Sigma (DFSS)through the application of this design methodology on an innovative product concept: a new navigation cane for blind people
The Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) is a design methodology articulated in a sequence of steps that are meant to shape the phases of brainstorming, customer targeting, product development, benchmarking (BM), and aesthetic styling [32,33,34] in a standardized procedure
Summary
In order to design a useful product that satisfies the blind populations’ requirements and supports visually impaired independency and safety in everyday life, careful effort was put into an extensive review of scientific literature and dedicated commercial products. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 2.2 billion visually impaired people in the world [1]. Among these people, 39 million suffer from complete blindness. The definition of visual impairment follows WHO categorization criteria [2]. Recent study has shown that the number of the visually impaired population is expected to grow in the near future [4]
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