DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL DIABETIC FOOT RISK ASSESSMENT FOR LOW-RESOURCE HEALTHCARE SETTINGS: A CASE STUDY OF LEAN DESIGN

Abstract Interest in applying a “lean” philosophy to design has been slowly growing recent years, but there are still few broadly applicable methodologies and illustrative cases published the literature guide lean processes. Lean approaches promise cost reduction increased product value, which could be particularly beneficial development for low- middle-income country markets, where value demands high. We use clinical need of efficient diabetic foot risk assessment lowresource healthcare settings present an example early-stage medical device. The background existing commercial products is intentionally leveraged throughout process streamline minimize independent validation strategies features. Our approach resulted that generated novel, purely mechanical plantar pressure evaluation device can indicate high ulcer resource-constrained settings. This case provides practical how processes adapted leaner large gains from minimizing cycle time cost.