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Pharmaceutical

BlistAssist

CLEIO has designed and developed a product that revolutionizes workflows in pharmacies.

BlistAssist: a device that revolutionizes the preparation of medication blister cards in pharmacies

Client

McKesson Canada

Industry

Pharmaceutical

Expertise

Electronic EngineeringEmbedded Software DevelopmentHuman Factors EngineeringIndustrial DesignInnovation StrategyMechanical EngineeringQuality Assurance

An innovative idea for a unique product on the market

McKesson Canada, a company whose mission is to improve all aspects of health care, wanted to ease the manual preparation and verification of medication blister cards in pharmacies. To do so, they worked with CLEIO to develop the innovative BlistAssist solution.

Our industrial designers and the McKesson Canada team proposed a system that ensures fast and accurate medication preparation while significantly reducing the risk of errors. Thanks to its projector, the device shows the cells to fill with the correct medication type and quantities.

How CLEIO and McKesson Canada proposed an innovative solution that solves several problems in pharmacies

McKesson Canada mandated CLEIO to assist in designing and developing this innovative solution. We mobilized all our teams, from the immersion phase to the launch, to create the best possible product for their users.

Understanding the end-user environment and profiles

We visited several pharmacies to analyze the end-user profiles,  environment and workflows. Among other things, we had to understand and analyze thoroughly:

  • Workflow when sorting medications
  • Technicians’ workspace, including how much counter space is generally available in pharmacies
  • Problems with the workflows and opportunities of improvement
  • Level of user expertise

Testing the concept

Our designers built the first physical proof of concept in wood using the user data collected. They integrated a projector and a mirror to project the image on the table, allowing them to quickly confirm the idea’s potential.

Reviewing and testing the ergonomics

With the help of our engineering teams, our designers created a volumetric mock-up and several visual concepts based on the initial analysis. They considered the size of the BlistAssist, McKesson Canada’s brand image, and future mechanical and electronic components.

We mobilized all the disciplines to develop the product

At CLEIO, our multidisciplinarity is our strength. Our mechanical, electronic, and software engineers worked together to achieve the best possible solution.

Mechanical engineering and component integration

During the technical development phase, our mechanical engineers incorporated all the components. They overcame some challenges: the risk for the projector to overheat, the projection angle, and the positioning of the barcode scanner and camera within a tight space.

Electronic engineering and embedded software development

Our electronic engineering team selected the components, including the camera, the barcode scanner, the USB hub, buttons, the electromagnet, and more. Our engineers also designed a printed circuit board (PCB) based on a microcontroller (MCU) that would read sensors and buttons, activate the electromagnet, and communicate with the control computer via USB.
Our embedded software specialists developed the software for the microcontroller on the printed circuit board.

A commercialized and patented technology

In a very short period of time, we designed and developed an innovative product that was patented and commercialized. Today, the BlissAssist reduces verification time during manual medication preparation by up to 70% and offers complete traceability throughout the process.
This initial collaboration also kickstarted the development of other innovative products with McKesson Canada.
The McKesson Canada BlistAssist is protected by the following patents: Canadian Industrial Design Registration No. 169907; U.S. Design Registration No. D806,261; EU Community Design Reg. No. 001453104-0001; New Zealand Design Registration No. 422105; Australian Patent No. 2011615417.

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