Democratizing cardiac care through thoughtful engineering.
Arrhythmias affect nearly 1% of the population, yet existing cryoablation systems are costly, complex, and limited to major centers. Synaptic Medical tasked RKS with making life saving procedures more affordable, intuitive, and human focused, so cardiologists everywhere can deliver high quality care.
Research Insights & Discovery
Key Outputs
- Clinical persona profiles and user scenarios
- Emotional journey maps
- Benchmarking
- Opportunity Areas & Design Criteria
RKS conducted immersive studies with physicians, nurses, and clinic administrators to map workflow complexities, emotional needs, and pain points in current ablation procedures. Using Psycho‑Aesthetics®, we identified the ideal emotional zone, precision paired with procedural confidence. Key challenge: simplify technology while preserving assurance in clinical outcomes.
How We Used Psycho-Aesthetics™ to Identify Unique Opportunities in the Project.
Using our proprietary Psycho-Aesthetics® 2.0 framework, we conducted in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation in diverse lab settings. We identified key emotional and usability pain points, such as intimidation with complex interfaces, workspace clutter, and trust in precision. These insights guided both the form and interface strategy, ensuring approachability and confidence in operation.
Industrial Design Concept Development
Key Outputs
- Form Factor Concepts
- CMF Strategy
- Refined Industrial Design Language
We devised an integrated hardware platform with modular components: console and handpiece, optimized for ergonomic handling, cable management, and spatial adaptability. Clear service access and alignment cues support fast setup and disinfectability.
UI/UX Design Development
Key Outputs
- Information Architecture
- Touchscreen Interface Design
- Custom Iconography & Visual System
- Interactive Prototypes
A unified interface for touch screen consoles and instrument hand pieces guides physicians through setup, live imaging, safety alerts, and real time ablation metrics. System feedback reduces cognitive load while ensuring clarity under pressure.
Engineering & Development
Key Outputs
- Engineering grade prototypes with modular components
- Performance data and structural validation
- CAD/CAM models and safety test documentation
- Touch screen interface prototypes
- Software architecture roadmap for remote connectivity
- Handpiece interaction, and peripheral integration
Collaborating with Synaptic’s engineers, we refined core mechanical architecture, fluidic systems, and electronics, balancing performance and cost. Emphasis on modular consumables helped reduce expenses and support wider clinic adoption.
Our team built embedded and desktop software to complement hardware, enabling setup wizards, procedure logging, diagnostics, and future remote support. Designed for future expansions into remote updates and cloud based analytics.
Key Outcomes and Results
Key Accomplishments
- Significantly reduce device and consumables cost
- Streamlined setup, better handpiece balance, and clear visual cues
- Physicians praise its “intuitive workflow”.
Synaptic stands as a purpose driven collaboration: a medical device platform that blends empathy, modularity, and optimized cost to democratize life saving cardiac care. Through end to end design from patient insights to software engineering, RKS delivered a system that feels humane, builds clinician trust, and meets practical economic realities.
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