On the types and roles of demonstrators for designing medical devices

Unlike many fields that make the most of advances in numerical modeling and simulation, actors involved in medical technologies R&D have more and more recourse to demonstrators when designing a product. These concrete materializations are a handy support at certain stages, but an inadequate use of mock-ups and prototypes can lead to tackling the problem in a roundabout way, at the risk of ending with an unsuitable product that does not meet the users’ needs. Based on our own experience in research projects in close collaboration with clinicians, this paper tries to sort out the different types and characteristics of demonstrators, regarding their potential uses at the successive stages of the design process. The general discussion is clarified by several illustrative examples that underline the important roles demonstrators play to help designers finding the right way on the winding path towards an innovative and useful medical device.