The development of the TCM5 Flex, a transcutaneous
bloodgas monitor designed around its user.
Helping Radiometer to re-think transcutaneous bloodgas monitoring and develop a radically new monitor for supersensitive patients that avoids life-threatening mistakes in day-to-day use.
While the TCM5 Flex is as inherently complex as most medical devices in terms of its technology, our design makes it outstandingly intuitive and user friendly.
Various intelligent features simplify workflows and allow healthcare professionals to focus on what matters most: the patient.
Thanks to the TCM5 Flex, Radiometer has been able to strengthen and expand its position with rising sales and increased market shares.
24/7 blood gas measurement is essential for supersensitive patients such as premature babies or patients in intensive care units. With transcutaneous blood gas monitors, the oxygenation status in patients can be tracked continually and non-invasive via a sensor applied to the skin, therefore dispensing with the need to draw blood.
However, worldwide, the number of medical devices that healthcare professionals have to work with is growing continually, making training both time-consuming and costly. Accordingly, our mission was to develop an outstandingly user-friendly and smart device that simplifies everyday work of healthcare professionals, supports hospital workflows & avoids life-threatening mistakes in day-to-day use.
Our in-depth research revealed that medical professionals’ needs vary depending on who they care for – whether it’s premature babies and neonates, people in intensive care or sleep lab patients. We translated these insights by creating different modes that the TCM5 Flex can be set to, displaying only the information needed for that specific patient group.
Neonates in intensive care eg., require 24/7 blood gas measurement and comfortable care. Yet, the sensor has to heat up in order to work with the necessary precision. Accordingly it is crucial to constantly keep track of the sensor temperature and how long it has been applied to the skin in order to avoid burning the neonate's sensitive skin.
This is why for the NICU mode (neonatal intensive care unit), we developed an smart algorithm that links the sensor temperature and how long it has been applied to the babies' skin. An intelligent timer automatically informs healthcare professionals when they need to reposition the sensor, enabling them to focus more on patient needs.
“The launch of the TCM5 Flex is a major success. Besides helping us retain existing customers, this product has also enabled us to attract a lot of new business in new segments of the market”
Supporting hospital workflows, the lightweight TCM5 Flex is robust, compatible with gloves and easy to carry around thanks to an integrated handle.
“The FLUID team was able to contribute its many years of experience in the development of medical products at every step of the process. The result of our collaboration is a medical device that offers our customers a definite added value”
The cable management was improved via a prominent spool on the front of the product, making the cable with the precious skin sensor easy to handle and optimizes the workspace.
The TMC5 Flex is a unique, 360° design solution – from the overall product gesture down to the last detail of the settings menu. The self-explanatory design provides users with clear guidance and feedback at all times: the clear-cut hierarchy of the screen elements makes the TCM5 operating system highly intuitive and safe to use.
The iconic design speaks an unambiguous language based on the clarity and simplicity of its shapes and colors.
