MEDI-SMART
2023
Designed in collaboration with Yeajin Jung, Meagan Lo, Val Sawant, and Anisha Saini.
My Role
Full Scope Role
Tools
Miro / Figma / Midjourney / Adobe Illustrator
Duration
4 Months
Industry
Medical
Project Overview
This project, created for a Conceptual Foresight and Methodologies class, focuses on integrating Medi-Smart, a conceptual healthcare platform leveraging AR/VR to empower medical professionals, with Philips. While it diverges from traditional design methodologies, it aligns with broader interest in addressing challenges faced in medical education, surgical precision, and patient engagement through innovative design solutions.
Project Overview
This project, created for a Conceptual Foresight and Methodologies class, focuses on integrating Medi-Smart, a conceptual healthcare platform leveraging AR/VR to empower medical professionals, with Philips. While it diverges from traditional design methodologies, it aligns with a broader interest in addressing challenges faced in medical education, surgical precision, and patient engagement through innovative design solutions.
Industry
Medical
Duration
4 Months
Tools
Miro / Figma / Midjourney / Adobe Illustrator
My Role
Full-Scope Role
BACKGROUND
What if healthcare knew no boundaries?
Context
Healthcare is facing growing demands for precision, patient engagement, and efficiency. Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies are emerging as powerful tools for education, diagnosis, and surgical planning, yet their integration into clinical practice remains fragmented. Philips, as a leader in healthcare innovation, offers an ideal platform for exploring how immersive technology could redefine the future of medical practice.
Opportunity
Medi-Smart proposes a strategic alignment between AR/VR technologies and Philips’ healthcare ecosystem. By integrating immersive tools into preoperative planning, surgical training, and patient education, Medi-Smart enhances understanding, reduces anxiety, and improves outcomes. This concept envisions a future where medical professionals refine precision and patients gain clarity and confidence, creating a more collaborative and informed healthcare experience.
RESEARCH
The research and mapping phase focused on analysing healthcare trends, Philips’ brand position, and the potential role of AR/VR in surgery and patient care. Through strategic mapping and foresight tools, we identified key opportunity areas where Medi-Smart could create the greatest impact.
DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
Philips cater to a diverse demographic, including healthcare institutions and consumers, offering a wide range of products to meet various technological needs and budget considerations. The utilisation of advanced technology for medical practices through Medi-Smart aligns with Philips’ demographic in several ways, particularly in the healthcare sector.
Geographical Demographics
Global: Philips has a global presence via three market groups - North America, Greater China, and International Markets - which are active in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Social Demographics
Age: Philips provides a varied portfolio, from personal grooming for the young to specialised health tech for the elderly, catering to each age group's specific needs.
Gender: While their products are designed for all genders, marketing approaches are tailored to align with gender-specific preferences.
Education: Philips' demographic encompasses individuals in education, healthcare training, and professionals within the healthcare sector, reflecting their broad and diverse customer base.
Economic Demographics
Income: Philips products span from basic to premium, suiting mid to high-income groups. Due to the advanced nature of their products, they also target healthcare institutions and areas with significant healthcare expenditure.
Economic Demographics
Income: Philips products span from basic to premium, catering to mid- to high-income groups. Due to the advanced nature of their products, they also target healthcare institutions and areas with significant healthcare expenditure.
MARKET ANALYSIS
As one of the world's top ten medical companies, Philips holds a prominent market position, excelling in medical imaging, patient monitoring, and healthcare informatics, with a focus on innovative solutions for improved patient care and clinical efficiency. Philips' integrated solutions for healthcare facilities and professionals have solidified their significant presence in the global healthcare market, making them a leading company with a diverse portfolio of medical devices, equipment, and services.
Ecosystem Mapping
This foresight map combines Medi-Smart with Philips' current business model. Smaller bubbles represent the existing components, while larger bubbles highlight the incorporation of Medi-Smart.
Vision Model Pyramid
This innovative platform would enable healthcare professionals from across the globe to access and interact with 3D medical data simultaneously, revolutionising the way diagnoses are made, and treatments are administered.
Strategic Foresight Mapping
This ecosystem map shows how Philips could integrate VR/AR into preoperative care, organizing core innovations, related data, and emerging trends into clear categories.
CONCEPT FRAMEWORK
The concept framework translated research insights into guiding themes for Medi-Smart. By asking speculative questions and identifying departure points, we outlined how AR/VR could enhance diagnosis, medical education, and patient comprehension. These pillars formed the foundation for imagining Medi-Smart as a future-facing healthcare platform.
PATIENT BENEFITS
DOCTOR BENEFITS
USER SCENARIOS & PERSONAS
To bring Medi-Smart to life, we developed personas and user scenarios that illustrate how different stakeholders might experience the platform. From patients preparing for surgery to surgeons refining precision, these narratives highlight the diverse needs Medi-Smart addresses and demonstrate its potential impact across the healthcare journey.
PRE-OPERATIVE PLANNING
POST-OPERATIVE RECOVERY
SURGICAL PRECISION
SYSTEM DESIGN
The system design diagram illustrates how Medi-Smart fits within Philips’ ecosystem, mapping the interconnected experiences of the company, medical professionals, and patients. It highlights how each stakeholder benefits from the platform while showing the relationships that make the system function as a whole.
STRATEGIC VALUE
The strategic value analysis outlines how Medi-Smart can evolve from a concept into a viable platform. By mapping vision, connectivity, specificity, and application alongside a phased timeline, this section demonstrates the steps needed to scale Medi-Smart into a sustainable, future-ready healthcare solution.
Strategic Value Diagram
This Strategic Value Analysis map details the implementable actions that contribute to broader objectives for Philips in the four sectors of Vision, Connectivity, Specificity, and Application.
Platformability Timeline
A strategic timeline to communicate how the expansion of VR in the medical field can be systematic, user-centered, and sustainable, ensuring continuous improvement and widespread adoption.
REFLECTIONS
Medi-Smart was a valuable exploration of how speculative design can intersect with emerging technologies to reimagine healthcare. Collaborating on this project strengthened my ability to think systemically, strategically map opportunities, and communicate complex ideas through clear visual frameworks. I learned how VR, AR, and AI could reshape patient education, surgical planning, and medical training, while also grappling with questions of adoption and scalability.
This project helped me grow as a designer by honing skills in systems thinking, foresight, and strategic communication — shifting my practice beyond products to envisioning platforms and futures that address real healthcare challenges.
