Medical device design is a complex process with many steps and a lot of risks along the way. If your company designs medical devices, or if you are adjacent in the industry, you may consider investing in a medical devices designer to design medical devices that you want to use or sell. Of course, if you already design yourself, you may just want to invest in another medical devices designer for the fact that, sometimes, it pays to have small components designed by a firm whose core competency is that type of component. Before you consider investing in a medical devices designer, though, there are four key aspects you should look at.
Portfolio and Reputation
A major aspect that you should be considering when investing in a medical devices designer is their current portfolio, and their overall reputation in the industry. It’s important when investing in any company to determine that they are capable of what they claim they can do, and this is proven through their history with other clients and the successful products that they have designed to the satisfaction of their clients. Depending on exactly what you need, you should be looking through a designer’s portfolio to see if they have done similar devices before. If they do, then they are more likely to be able to successfully create what you need within the timeframe you need it done. Reputation is just as important as a portfolio. If a designer has a good reputation of being able to produce what is needed for clients on schedule, on budget, and to specifications, then they are very likely going to be a good investment.
Budget Consideration
Creating any project with a sound and responsible budget, and staying within that budget, is an extremely difficult thing to do in any industry. If you are going to be investing in a medical devices designer, you need to be sure that they have reasonable rates for materials and man-hours—that doesn’t necessarily mean they are just the cheapest one available. By contacting a designer’s previous clients, you can better understand whether they are capable of staying on budget as well, and that their estimates are accurate. Scopes change in projects, and unknowns pop up now and then, but if they are going to change their fee for every minor change, you may want to go with a designer that has a better business philosophy and better ethics when it comes to estimates and agreed upon budget windows.
Location and Communication
Investing in a medical devices designer is going to require a lot of communication. While choosing a designer that is in close proximity to one of your offices would be convenient, it isn’t necessary as generally, for most projects, only a couple of in-person meetings are needed; and with online teleconferencing becoming more necessary, those in-person meetings are becoming less needed. Overall, the location of the designer isn’t as important as other aspects, such as capability and reputation; however, communication is still absolutely necessary in order to communicate what you need, and to find out how projects are going schedule-wise and budget-wise.
Size of Company and Resources Available
Medical devices designers come in all sizes, from small highly specialized firms to very large turnkey corporations. Depending on your needs, and what you are interested in investing in, it may be more beneficial to go with a small firm that is going to be more nimble, personable, and better qualified. If you want one firm that does it all and that will take the project from inception to completion under one roof, then by all means, choose a large, multi-talented firm—just check out their portfolio and reputation first.
If you are looking to invest in a highly qualified and professional medical devices designer with a great reputation, check out and contact IDSys, Integrated Design Systems Inc., today.