A pioneering urine testing system has been recognised in one of the world’s-most-prestigious design competitions.
The Urine Testing System received a coveted Red Dot Award – an internationally-respected mark of quality for design and innovation.
Developed by British company, Clinical Design, the Urine Testing System marks a step change in point-of-care urine testing.
The most-common diagnostic test in the world – 2.8 billion urine samples are processed each year – and this process is the same whether carried out in a bush clinic in the Sudan or a top London hospital.
But manual urinalysis can be unhygienic and subject to variation, with risks of spillages, contamination, and errors in analysis and the transcription of results.
Oliver Blackwell, founder and chife executive of Clinical Design, set out to change that.
And the Urine Testing System is the product of nine years of development, during which he worked closely with senior clinicians.
Hygienic, easy-to-use and accurate, it has been designed to improve the entire process; from receiving the sample and recording results, to analysis in the laboratory.
Digital readings reduce variation in analysis and improve the ability to get the diagnosis right first time.
Results can be saved into patient’s electronic health record; and, with sealed, leak-proof samples, urine tests can be conducted at a desk.
Blackwell said: “I am delighted that the panel at Red Dot recognised the delivery of a complex product in such a simple form.
“Working closely alongside clinicians, we challenged the inefficiencies and methods people had come to accept – we scrutinised every aspect of urinalysis and asked a lot of questions.
“The Red Dot award proves to me that I asked the right questions and managed to appropriately translate the answers.”
The awards are judged by a jury of medical experts and leading designers.
The system will be available to healthcare providers across the UK and the Republic of Ireland this spring.
