Dental Asia November/December 2021

“Something I’ve always said is that one
design element is the seam, and that
remains true to this day. You can’t put a
seam just anywhere, you have to look at the
bigger picture – what’s behind the seam,
who needs to access that, for instance, for
maintenance and how often. You have to
understand the environment the product is
for,” shared Malmén.
It is no surprise, however, that customer
expectations have changed, especially in
terms of user experience (UX) and user
interface (UI).
He noted: “In the early days, the UI of a
dental unit was basically just buttons and
a membrane keypad, but since then we’ve
entered this whole new visual world of
graphic UIs, touchscreens and what not.
People now demand the same kind of
usability and intuitiveness of a dental unit
UI that they would expect of a smartphone.
That’s something that we industrial
designers need to carry over to the product.”
FUNCTION AND FORM
According to Malmén, a great industrial
designer has a good visual eye and knowledge
of manufacturing techniques, is cooperative
and can put their thoughts and ideas down
on paper.
Everything starts from defining the
product requirements, which is followed by
brainstorming and ideation. The mechanics
designers then determine the construction
and dimensions, while the usability specialists
work on the user interface. Finally, the product
is tested and refined in cooperation with
partner end-users.
Yet, although many types of industrial design
follow a similar trajectory, designing health
technology comes with a unique human
factor that sets it apart from other products.
Take a dental unit for example. One dentist
may be looking for easy access to essential
instruments, another for left-handed
operation. Larger clinics and dental schools
are likely to need customisation options, such
as personalised settings that are easy to
enable in any unit. Then there is the patient,
who is probably hoping to feel as comfortable
and safe as possible during a potentially
uncomfortable treatment. Besides all that,
everyone is looking for reliability that can be
counted on for years to come.
A cleverly designed dental unit can respond
to all these needs while conforming to today’s
ever-increasing medical device regulation.
How does one get there? Through great design
that respects and reflects user needs in both
function and form. DA
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
DYNAMIC INSTRUMENTS
SIMPLIFYING DENTAL MOTION
TeKne Dental srl – Italy
info@teknedental.com www.teknedental.com
DENTAL ASIA NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021 19