Dynamic Design

End-users of home medical equipment have varied needs. But increasingly, as a consumer group, they are demanding HME and rehab products that look attractive and fit into their lifestyles.

Fortunately, the market is prepared. Manufacturers in virtually all product categories are investing time and money in innovative technology that meets end-users’ clinical needs while placing a new emphasis on design.

The shift can be attributed to a more active and educated customer base, according to Lawrence de la Haba, vice president of marketing for Graham-Field Health Products, Atlanta. “More people who use these products are living more active lifestyles,” he says. “For instance, more people now prefer rollators if they are out. They are more colorful, they are more useful and they feature accessories such as a basket, a bag and handbrakes. Not only are they more functional but they also look much less medical than walkers.”

An aesthetically pleasing product look can even add to the user’s compliance, says Doug Francis, executive vice president of Port Washington, N.Y.-based Drive Medical. “For a therapist, the main concern when they send patients home with a piece of equipment, for example a walker, is that they will be embarrassed about the product because they see it as a sign of getting old. If you can make [a product] look more like something that is attractive and young and vibrant, you’ve got a better shot of [patients] actually using it to follow their plan of care,” he explains.

While function is still the absolute priority, fashion is also becoming a driver according to Neal Curran, vice president of technology and intellectual property for Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio. Curran says the demand for products that are not clinical in design is increasing. In particular, he cites bath safety items and others that are predominantly visible in the home as targets for eye-appeal with consumers.

“There is an increased demand by users for products that don’t look as rough or as clinical as far as the design, particularly in the bath safety area where you look at grab bars, tub bars or shower chairs,” says Curran.

MINIMIZING ‘MEDICAL’ LOOK

The shift toward integrating design with function has been building. Scott Higley, vice president of sales, Quantum Rehab, a division of Pride Mobility Products, Exeter, Pa., says past thinking and design demonstrated a quest toward function that halted before design came into play. “The industry had always designed 100 percent purely for function, and it was almost looked upon as that is where you should stop,” he says. “If a product was functional, then we didn’t need to go any further because it was a medical product. We didn’t [think about the fact that] we were dealing with consumers.”

Now, says Higley, there is a much more educated population — whether it is a geriatric patient looking for a scooter or a newly injured younger client with a spinal cord injury ]— that is more aware of their choices. “These customers are entranced by the style of the product,” Higley notes. He adds, for example, that customers such as those in power wheelchairs are looking for products that offer more than mobility; they want a product that is as non-medical looking as possible.

Ming Chang says end-users want products that are extensions of themselves.

Chang, director of rehab sales for Longmont, Colo.-based Sunrise Medical, emphasizes that the products, particularly power wheelchairs, are “extensions of the user. They’re in these products all the time. It is more than just mobility; it is part of their personality, their character,” Chang says. “We are driving hard with every product, not just power but with everything we do, to make it look it less clinical and more mainstream.”

Tom Rollick, vice president of development for Lebanon, Tenn.-based Permobil, explains that “in this industry, design is a global sense of integrating people with disabilities into the community. There is so much more awareness that matches the technology and desire — the desire of society to have everybody integrated. The two are coming together and creating configurations of systems that are more aesthetically pleasing because mobility equipment is much more visible than it ever has been.”

One challenging point, says Rollick, is to minimize the appearance of the equipment. “When someone is in a wheelchair, for example, you want to minimize the exposure of the wheelchair so that what you see is mostly the individual,” he says. “Less is more.”

The desire for attractive products should not be an anomaly, says John Box, president of Colours in Motion, Anaheim, Calif. “It’s the same thing that drives customers toward [designer] apparel or a Gucci bag — image is everything in the United States,” he says. “Television and magazines keep impressing on our society that you’ve got to look cool; you’ve got to be presentable. [HME] should be no different.”

Striking design patterns and bold use of color can add to the attractiveness of HME products just as they do for all consumer goods.

“Equipment should be no different than lifestyle accessories when it comes to style. Like a great pair of eyeglasses or jewelry, people want choices, and varying designs offer an individual the opportunity to showcase their personality,” says Melissa Keim, vice president of marketing for The Roho Group, Belleville, Ill. The firm’s designer covers, for example, “allow the user to add a little character and personality to their seat cushion,” she notes.

The evolution of style also has an impact on HME products. “If you look at it from an aesthetic point of view, styles change over time and people’s tastes change over time, so there’s always an evolution for things to develop and take on a new look,” says Sunrise’s Chang. “Something that may have looked acceptable a few years ago can suddenly become no longer acceptable.”

DEFINING DESIGN

According to Mark Greig, it is important when considering design of HME to think about which elements affect the overall aesthetics of a piece of equipment. Greig, vice president of advanced development for Sunrise, says the concept of design is broader than simply how the product looks. “You have to think of how it fits with [the user’s] daily life, how they will use the product and move within it. I believe that is the broader sense of design that we need to focus on,” he says.

Likewise, points out ResMed’s Ron Richard, products should blend in with the user’s environment. “Form, fit and function … that’s really what you look for in a design, and then you try to blend these with the aesthetics, almost like a chameleon,” says Richard, senior vice president of strategic marketing initiatives for the Poway, Calif.-based company. “You want the product to be chameleon-like in the sense that it’s blending into the surroundings of the person’s natural environment.”

The look designers are seeking involves a combination of materials, color and shape. “Good design isn’t just one thing — it is a bunch of small, little items that when you put them all together make something interesting, yet each on their own don’t really stand out,” says Invacare’s Curran. “Good design is the sum of all those pieces put together that give the product an impression that is lasting and positive.

“That’s the challenge,” he continues, “to figure out how to take a shape or a form, whether or it is a sleep product, a patient aid product or a wheelchair, and come up with enough interesting things that capture your eye or make your eye gloss over it.”

The look of consumer electronics is a popular trend that is appearing in some product lines. For instance, products such as glucometers are used “on the go,” so their design could be related to that of a pager or a pedometer, says Richard. “Additionally, a CPAP machine should look more like an electronic consumer product such as a clock radio or a stereo component,” he says.

Oxygen delivery products are also targets for style. Dave Green, vice president of product development for Sunrise Medical’s DeVilbiss division, says the company is giving portable oxygen products a “sporty” look. “We started putting oxygen cylinders in cloth bags a long time ago, and they have gradually become sportier,” he says. “We now are putting a product into the line that is a cylinder carrying device that looks much like a traveler’s pack on wheels; it really looks like something that you would see in the airport.”

AirSep Corp. also is offering fashion-forward oxygen accessories and has “worked hard to combine fashion with function to provide a sophisticated, lightweight alternative” says Kathy Sanchez, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company’s marketing manager. “This concept is very appealing to the highly active oxygen patient. The user is typically working, traveling or simply more often concerned about appearance and can now really opt for a non-medical look, which is achieved through emphasis on a stylish flair to this new portable oxygen technology.”

INTEGRATING FUNCTION, FASHION

Joe Priest, AirSep’s president and COO, notes that home care patients are no different than anyone else. “They like great form as well as great function,” says Priest. “The best-engineered products offer both.”

Good design and trendy looks can be applied to all products, according to Graham-Field’s De la Haba, citing color use in wheelchairs and sleek design in bathroom safety items. “Now there is consumer advertising and an increased awareness of safety in the home, as well as awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and accident prevention. All of these things are driving the interest in products that look like they are for everyone, not just someone with a disability,” he says.

“We have invested in some new [research and development] in design on our bath seats, tub rails, grab bars and shower hoses,” adds de la Haba. “We see a whole range of products that can have design improvements that would benefit the consumer. To me, there is no product that good design doesn’t enhance.”

Sunrise’s Greig believes manufacturers have to balance the need for function and the desire for style. “A wheelchair needs to represent the user in such a way that it doesn’t overwhelm the person, and it also needs to have some style. No one wants to be seen on top of a bucket of bolts or something really mechanical looking,” he explains. “[The wheelchair] needs to look like something that fits the form of the user, fits the personality of the user and is something that they feel represents themselves — something that they’re not ashamed to be in.”

The addition of color goes a long way in making wheelchairs and other mobility products appealing. From colored frames to vibrant cushion fabrics, manufacturers continue to appeal to consumers’ eye for detail.

“Following the lead of the bicycle industry, the use of color remains a trend in the lightweight wheelchair category,” says Invacare’s Curran. “There are a lot of similarities [to the bicycle industry] as far as the components and the use of colors and shapes.”

Drive’s Francis emphasizes that manufacturers are forging ahead with new designs so they can meet consumers’ desire for fashionable and stylish products. The company has announced an alliance with consumer designer Michael Graves, whose approach, Francis says, will be to disregard everything he knows about medical products that he has experienced (Graves is a paraplegic) and focus on designing products that have improved functionality and aesthetically appealing design. (See sidebar this page.)

And the options for making HME look better continue to enter the manufacturing process. As Greig says, the industry has “grown up. We are thinking much more about design than we ever have, and we have new processes that allow us to create better aesthetically looking products.”

That is good news for consumers, concludes Quantum Rehab’s Higley. “Today, products have to fit seamlessly into our customers’ lifestyles, meaning that the products have to adapt to their lifestyle and to their environment,” he explains. “It’s a fun challenge to be able to give them what they want.”

Graves to Design DME Line

In an industry first, Drive Medical, Port Washington, N.Y., is introducing a line of durable medical equipment designed by world-renowned architect and product designer Michael Graves, acknowledged as one of the most powerful brand names in the design world.

“We recognize that great design coupled with the highest standards of function and ease-of-assembly is a competitive advantage that will set new standards for the health care industry,” said Harvey P. Diamond, Drive president.

“By providing new product opportunities and alternatives to our customers, we hope to counteract some of the potential undesirable effects of pending competitive bidding regulations, which we oppose.”

Internationally known, Graves and his firms have won more than 175 design awards. He was the recipient of the 1999 National Medal of Arts and the 2001 American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal. His innovative product design practice is responsible for more than 1,700 consumer products for companies such as Alessi, Disney and Target.

In addition to the experience of his architectural practice and broad interest in accessibility issues, Graves, who is a paraplegic, will bring his personal insight to this new area of design.

“I have a new outlook on how improved design can add ease and dignity to life for all people who are concerned with safety in the home and coping with disabilities,” said Graves, who will also serve as a spokesperson for Drive.

The Michael Graves Collection for Drive Medical, scheduled to debut next spring, will include bath safety equipment, mobility equipment and aids to daily living.

“The enormous, now graying, baby-boomer segment of the population known for its keen interest in design will provide a major market for this line,” according to Diamond.