The Product Team
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1 UI Designer
1 UX Designer1 Industrial Designers
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Project duration: 1 year
Project duration: 1 year
"Sequencing is going to be a part of protecting ourselves from future pandemics. It is not just about being able to identify pathogens but also determining the individuals most at risk.“
Overview
From 2013 to late 2015, West Africa experienced the largest Ebola outbreak to date, a virus with a fatality rate of up to 70% in humans.
Dr. Ian Goodfellow, a virologist, traveled to Sierra Leone to establish a research lab. His mission was to perform genome sequencing on archived samples to comprehend the epidemiology and evolution of the Ebola outbreak, a task he and his team had never undertaken before. The choice of instruments for their research lab was crucial.
After evaluating numerous options, they decided on the Ion Chef system, the Ion PGM system, and the Ion AmpliSeq technology for sample preparation. This provided a firsthand opportunity to see how our newly designed systems performed under extremely challenging conditions. From a digital aspect, The Ion Chef, designed with our new philosophy of simplifying workflows to their most basic forms and using Progressive Disclosure to guide scientists through tasks, was put to the test.
Results
Upon his return, Dr. Goodfellow expressed great satisfaction with the results. His team, novices in sequencing, managed to set up the machines, verify their functionality, and initiate the sequencing process within 2-3 days. The systems' efficiency and user-friendliness surpassed expectations. Despite the challenging environment, they successfully gathered the required data. Dr. Goodfellow's only suggestion for improvement was a more lightweight instrument for ease of transportation.
Receiving real-time feedback from someone operating under such severe conditions and appreciating the simplicity of the machine was invaluable. This experience affirmed our design philosophy and will continue to inform our future projects. It also inspires me to see how design can really help change the lives of people all around the world.
