GE Healthcare, Drytec, Product Design

GE Healthcare

Drytec Technetium Generator

Challenge

GE Healthcare (formerly Amersham Health) asked Kinneir Dufort to design a new technetium generator (a specialised hospital product used to produce radioactive solutions for use in patient imaging procedures). As well as meeting the demands of a variety of markets and existing customer facilities, the new product had to deliver improved ease of use, assembly and reliability. The goal was also to replace two existing products, manufactured on two different sites, with a single product manufactured on one site.

Technetium generators are used in hospitals for the production of an injectable radioactive solution for use in diagnostic imaging. The products contain a radioactive core and use lead or depleted uranium as a primary shield, resulting in products weighing 11 to 19kg. This makes the generators both heavy to handle and vulnerable to breakage. The safety and clean up implications of such events are significant, further adding to the scale of the design challenge.

Solution

KD conducted on site user research in several key markets first to understand the requirements, and again later to obtain feedback using prototypes. In parallel, production staff were involved at an early stage and throughout the process of design, prototyping and review. This iterative approach of research, stakeholder engagement and review was critical to the success of the final design.

The design of DRYTEC sets a new standard in its market. Technologically it works in the same way as its predecessors but its simple exterior form, physical arrangement and clear labelling not only make it more attractive but easier to clean and to operate. The design has optimised the lead shield which now provides the best shielding to weight ratio of any generator available, and combined with a unique over-moulded handle, lifting and safety have been vastly improved. The design falls within tight volumetric constraints to suit the production plant and to fit into the majority of customer facilities. The newly designed internal configuration uses fewer parts and is assembled much faster. The design also yielded patented interlocking features that secure the core safely inside the shield within a plastic assembly that passes safely the critical 1m-drop test.

Results

DRYTEC has more than met the needs of a diverse, conservative and competitive market and has surpassed the challenging business objectives. The new design replaces both premium and budget products with a single design which is more appealing to users, as well as being safer and more efficient in production. The combination of strategic understanding and meticulous attention to design detail has yielded a highly successful result with significant increases in both forecast sales and profit margins.

50% reduction in assembly time
Improved reliability
Reduced component part cost
Reduced number of parts
Improved shielding to weight ratio
Improved usability and safety

“Our volume in sales has greatly exceeded our forecast and expectations, and in addition I have many enquiries for completely new accounts. The DRYTEC design has proven to be immensely successful”

John Woodward - Marketing Manager, GE Healthcare

“DRYTEC represents a very significant achievement for our business. Not only is the design winning over customers by being smarter, safer and easier to use, it has delivered major improvements to our manufacturing operation through cost savings. In short, it is a major success story”

Pete Weisner - Project Director, GE Healthcare

Read more - GE Drytec website (opens in new window)