•  

RECOVERY FORCE COMPRESSION WEARABLE DEVICE

Advancing healthcare's next-generation wearable technology with seamless design for manufacturing through the combined force of Radius, Jabil Healthcare, and Jabil.

Recovery Force is a medical device company providing healthcare professionals, patients, and athletes with an innovative mobile compression solution for enhancing circulation. Their technology centers on embedding woven fibers of nickel-titanium alloy (Nitinol) into textiles which have the unique ability to change shape in real-time to deliver sequencing compressions that increase circulation to the body’s cardiovascular and lymphatic systems. Recovery Force realized embedding electronics into textiles requires unique competencies and capabilities to ensure optimum comfort, durability, and convenience. They needed a total turnkey partner that understood the challenges of textile-integrated electronics and could adhere to strict quality guidelines and certifications. With the seamless support of Jabil’s divisions, Radius Innovation & Development and Jabil Healthcare, Recovery Force found a dedicated partner capable of assembling the different pieces of a complex technology and textile puzzle.

Media

A CLOSER LOOK AT RECOVERY FORCE.

“Radius focused on the user interface, the look and feel, and of course, product quality. “It impressed me how they looked at so many places and markets to make sure the product design was user friendly and aesthetically pleasing.”

— Jeff Schwegman, Vice President of Engineering at Recovery Force. 

Establishing Usability and Aesthetic Design

The challenge was to develop a compression and heat wrap which communicated advancements in technology and stood out in a crowded market. The product needed to evoke the technology inside without being aesthetically overbearing while also catering to both professional athletes and active consumers. Prior to Radius involvement, Jabil and Jabil Healthcare had worked with Recovery Force to produce a simplified prototype, which succeeded in proving core functionality. Radius was then able to layer in seamless usability and aesthetics to reflect the Recovery Force brand and technology.

image

Recovery Force provided Radius with their brand aspirations and marketing approach. The process began by examining the current performance apparel market space of compression and heat wraps. Recovery Force fits within a unique spot in the market, as most existing devices do not offer both active compression and heat within a single solution. The Radius team analyzed how existing products position themselves on the market so that the device would be differentiated years ahead of the rest of the competition.

By using market insights to develop a visual aesthetic, Radius was able to communicate advancement in technology fused with a contemporary design. Concept exploration covered a wide range of themes from simple and streamlined to dynamic and expressive. Layered fabrics, precision seams, and heat de-bossed graphical elements convey the underlying energy and magic in the technology. The result developed an aesthetic which evokes performance, intelligence, and progression.

image

In order to improve the usability, Radius studied the user interaction and developed functional prototypes to inform the process. Full scale prototype models were used to evaluate the form and aesthetic choices. It also informed Radius human factors experts of the interface layout and design. Mockup models were used to help understand the scale and impact of the components in different regions of the device and full-scale fabric prototype models were constructed using 3D printed parts for the controller. Radius evaluated the human factors and ergonomic elements to inform key design decisions. The team worked closely with Jabil Healthcare’s technical experts to ensure that design for manufacturing was considered throughout and at every stage of the process.

image

From start to finish, the powerful combination of Radius, Jabil Healthcare, and Jabil have helped Recovery Force unlock the potential of its therapeutic performance apparel. Recovery Force will continue working on new technology developments and achieving its next FDA clearance for making devices to treat upper extremities, particularly to fight chronic lymphedema and venous insufficiency. In addition, Recovery Force sees great opportunities in an additional 15 devices in the pipeline that focus on enhancing circulation for all parts of the body.

Innovation. Made Possible. Made Better.

Visit Recovery Force.