Flexible displays in medical technology – Bachelor thesis as internship follow-up project

What will the future of medical technology and our healthcare system look like? How can we relieve doctors, nurses and other medicals in medical institutions? And how can digitalization support humanity in social systems?

In cooperation with the WILDDESIGN team, working student Alicia Kastner-Pöhlmann from Magdeburg dealt with these questions in her bachelor thesis. The starting point was the flexible display of Royole. But what advantages for medical technology can we derive from the new, ultra-light, bendable and shatterproof technology?

Together with the Hochfrankenklinik Naila from Upper Franconia and many interviews with nurses, doctors, therapists, etc., the mobile healthcare device Ivi was developed. Users wear Ivi as a wearable on their bodies.

The goal of the intensive process with many sketches, prototypes and meetings with the medicals was a vision of the future that was as realistic as possible.

The function – documentation, information and communication

Ivi is a mobile healthcare device in which the Royole display is built in. It will initially be used in medical facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes.

The users of the display device are primarily the medicals of the facility. These include physicians as well as assistant physicians, therapists, nurses and other healthcare professionals. The medical carries the device with him and documents, views information and forwards it to other colleagues at any time. The networked workflow is additionally made more efficient by scanning QR codes at the patient’s bedside and at any other devices and interfaces. By logging in with a username and password, users assure their respective access rights to data.

Ivi makes laborious, time-consuming processes more efficient. For example, documentation can be done directly at the patient’s bed – the time saved can be invested in the patient himself. This relieves the burden on medicals and supports humanity in the current structures of the healthcare system.

In addition, internal organization is supported by the network through which medicals communicate quickly and accurately with each other via chat and Facetime. Shift schedules can be viewed, organizational matters clarified and recorded.

Use by the patient in the form of medical treatments, such as for therapeutic purposes, is also conceivable. Therapy exercises and sessions can thus be continued without the attending physician. Data transparency is also an advantage for patients, as they can access it through the Ivi app. Diagnoses and evaluations can be easily downloaded and saved. This is a step towards a health app that documents vital records and can retrieve key data when needed. In addition, unnecessary duplicate examinations are avoided. The treatment plan can be viewed, and patients are no longer left in uncertainty. Simplified access is possible for relatives too, so they can keep up to date with the latest information and book visitor appointments online without having to call the facilities directly.

Ivi is a healthcare device that combines greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness with a reduction in medicals’ workload and an all-round care package for patients and their relatives.

The bottom line – more time, more humanity, more life

The vision of the future finally evolved into a functional model and the Royole display was incorporated into the 3D printed prototype.