ViewPoint 6.0 – Improved treatment of patients thanks to intelligent data management

The background

GE Healthcare develops medical solutions for diagnostic imaging, pharmaceutical research and development as well as contrast media. The holistic approach used in product development is also visible in ViewPoint 6.0. The documentation system, which can be used in gynecology and internal medicine, comes with analog and digital interfaces. This enables it to be linked with many imaging systems and to be integrated in data management systems used in doctors' practices and hospitals.

The starting point

UID has acted as a consultant for conceptual design to GE Healthcare since 2008 and has designed ViewPoint's user interface. For ViewPoint 6.0, GE Healthcare planned to adopt certain UI elements used in the existing interaction concepts and to optimize the modular user interface through functional design. Moreover, the new graphic resources that had to be developed were to be made available for software development.

The objectives

GE Healthcare is a premium provider of medical technology and therefore, the company put great emphasis on an appealing, exclusive screen design. The company required a solution that can be used both in bright and dark treatment rooms. In addition, the software was to be used on several monitors. The main focus of all requirements, however, was on the clear presentation of complex patient data at a glance. This enables doctors to consider all relevant data when deciding about a patient's treatment.

The procedure

During the entire project, UID's user interface experts advised GE Healthcare on the choice and timing of methods. First, UID developed several design concepts and color schemes for the screen design as well as self-explanatory icons for the user interface. The UID team also documented all the screen elements that had been designed in a design specification for later use in software development. Currently, GE Healthcare and UID are improving the interface by conducting an expert review.

The result

• Patients' data, report preparation and image gallery can be displayed in one screen.
• The newly designed software has a coherent, modern and consistent look and reflects GE Healthcare's premium positioning.
• ViewPoint 6.0 guarantees optimal use in bright and dark surroundings. Only very few bright screen elements were used and stark contrasts improve visibility. Images are displayed on black backgrounds and thus brought to the fore.
• Thanks to the intuitive design, preparing reports and managing several images at the same time is now straightforward. The users decide about the number and size of the images and videos displayed.
• They can adapt the user interface as they see fit by hiding modules, changing their size, creating tabs and defining mandatory fields.
• With ViewPoint 6.0, individual reports with consistent terminology and high quality can be created.

The result fully meets GE Healthcare's high standards and convinces their customers: "At an international convention, GE Healthcare presented a beta version of ViewPoint to a number of selected customers. The new design appealed to everyone – there wasn't a single negative comment! By cooperating with UID we managed to achieve exactly what we had planned," says Bernhard Hornung, Engineering Manager with GE Healthcare.

Project reference from 2011