At REV.1 Engineering, we have handled medical device product development for more than 120 products across 60+ clients. We specialize in complex, new-to-market products that require our innovative approach to medical device engineering. Because of this, it’s not unusual for a client to bring us a project they have almost given up on.
One striking example is a recent client whose project had been passed around several other medical device development companies over the course of eight years before they were referred to REV.1. While those previous firms were happy to accept the client’s budget, not one was successful at delivering a feasible product design.
The Challenge: An “Impossible” Design Profile
To be fair to the other firms, this particular product concept was one of the most challenging applications we have ever seen. It required integrating a unique set of electronics into a minimally invasive medical device with a package profile that initially seemed impossible.
While many contract manufacturing and product development firms advertise diverse capabilities, in practice, most are simply too large or rigid to properly handle a complex, completely unprecedented product like this one.
As you might expect, after being spun in and out of multiple contract firms for nearly a decade, this client showed up on our doorstep with a lot of skepticism. We invested the time in deep initial conversations to understand their hesitation, earn their trust, and eventually secure the contract.
Within just four months, we brought a product thought of as an impossible dream to mechanical feasibility.
How We Did It: The REV.1 Engineering Approach
We bypassed the typical roadblocks of standard medical device design firms by deploying a highly agile, multi-step strategy:
1. Active Listening and Smart Adaptation
First, our creative engineering team listened carefully to the client’s core needs and goals. We took their novel medical device design and manipulated it into a slightly different variation. This preserved all of the necessary and desired functionality while leveraging our practical knowledge to package it into a much more manufacturing-friendly concept.
2. Streamlined Front-End R&D
Second, we accelerated the early R&D phases. Utilizing our invaluable network of top-tier industry suppliers alongside our own in-house assembly capabilities, we began medical device prototyping immediately. This allowed us to rapidly prove or disprove key project assumptions, jump-starting our forward momentum and keeping the creative juices flowing.
3. Integrated On-Site Prototyping & Machining
At REV.1, we don’t just have on-site prototyping technologies—we employ full-time, dedicated technicians and machinists. These team members work hand-in-hand with our engineering staff. Giving them the freedom to infuse their own creativity into early design concepts and process development creates a significantly quicker, more effective iteration-test cycle.
4. Parallel Pre-Clinical Modeling
As the project progressed and the designs grew more robust, we employed our standard practice of running pre-clinical modeling parallel to the prototyping process. Our prototyping team also participates directly in medical device bench testing to keep the cycle of design, create, test, and verify moving at a rapid pace.
Deep Experience Meets Complex Engineering
From a medical device design perspective, our engineers bring a wide range—and many collective decades—of experience across:
- Advanced electronics integration
- Fluid dynamics and materials science
- Complex, minimally invasive delivery systems
Our entire staff is always energized by a project that the rest of the industry considers a barrier. Because we are fully staffed with full-time, on-site resources, we can seamlessly accommodate any medical device development timeline, no matter how difficult the engineering challenge.
The Result: This unique product is currently moving through active development and is already attracting the attention of multiple major corporate partners.
Bring Your Most Challenging R&D to REV.1
Do you have a challenging product concept that needs to be developed? Bring it to the R&D firm that relishes the challenge—and has the design, engineering, and development chops to make it a reality.
Even your most difficult product development cycle can move 2x Faster right now. Connect with our team today and let’s get your unique product moving:
- Phone: 951.696.3933
- Email: info@rev1engineering.com
— Eric & Phil
