Design Research for Medical Device Teams
User research and discovery work that helps medical device teams uncover unmet needs, define stronger requirements, and make better product decisions earlier.
Loring Human Factors conducts design research that helps medical device teams better understand users, workflows, use environments, and the decisions that shape product direction.
Unlike broader market research, design research takes a closer look at how products should function, which features matter most, and what users actually need — including needs they may not clearly articulate on their own.
For medical devices, this work also helps define user profiles, use environments, and critical tasks that support stronger human factors and usability engineering programs.
What Design Research Helps Define
Research that helps teams make clearer product decisions earlier in development.
User Requirements
Defining what users need from the product and where expectations are highest.
Use Environments
Understanding where the product will be used and what conditions shape interaction.
Critical Tasks
Identifying the tasks that matter most for safe, effective product use.
Personas
Clarifying user types, priorities, and differences that affect design decisions.
Feature Priorities
Helping teams evaluate what matters most before direction is finalized.
Product Direction
Turning research into clearer decisions about product design and development.
Common Research Approaches
A range of research methods selected based on project goals, users, and stage of development.
Contextual Inquiry
In-context research to understand users, tasks, and environments.
One-on-One Interviews
Direct conversations that surface detailed user insight.
Remote Research
Flexible research that supports distributed users and teams.
Focus Groups
Group discussion used to explore attitudes, reactions, and themes.
Diary Studies
Longer-term studies that capture behaviors/experiences over time.
Workflow Observation
Research used to understand workflows and decision points.
These are some of the most common research approaches we use, with additional methods selected based on each project’s goals, users, and stage of development.
Built Around Real User Needs
Strong product direction depends on more than assumptions. It depends on understanding what users are trying to do, what gets in their way, and what matters most in real-world use.
LHF uses design research to help teams uncover unspoken needs, define better requirements, and make earlier, more informed product decisions. That work often creates stronger alignment across design, development, and human factors — while helping reduce costly rework later.
