Prism is a redesigned blood pressure monitor housing. Medical product design has been using the same colors and shapes for years, placing focus on function, not form. However, the typical white and neutral blue and cold, clinical nature of medical machines has over time become associated with negative feelings like unwellness and self-consciousness. For someone dealing with a condition who must interact with a piece of medical equipment every day, the beauty of the machine might be just as important as its function.
The goal was to create a housing for a blood pressure monitor that was not only functional but also beautiful, an all inclusive unit that could house the arm cuff internally.
Working under the assumption that the housing will be made using injection-molded plastic, the redesign contains internal features such as ribs, bosses, and snap-fits. The redesign also considers the standard guidelines for housing part break-up, mold parting line location, and part wall thickness, as well as manufacturability issues such as design for assembly, simplicity, and disassembly.
The first step was to ideate and iterate. That meant exploring many, many forms through rough sketching.
The favorites were then chosen and drawn again more cleanly and with thorough detail.
To check the manufacturability of the plastic shell through injection molding, the model underwent a mold flow analysis in Solidworks. The best fill occurs at the injection points, shown in blue, while the areas where the liquid plastic may have difficulty filling, usually thinner sections and areas further away from the injection points, are shown in red.
