3M Psoriasis Prescription Patch
Pharmaceutical Transdermal drug-Delivery patch
Lightweight medical-grade skin wearable that transfers the correct dosage of pharmaceutical to the skin’s surface. This specific patch application was aiming to treat Psoriasis of the skin. 3M was working directly with the Pharmaceutical company tailoring the wearable film to the drug chemistry, an opportunity was born to infuse a unique patient experience into the patch.
Manufacturing-centered vs human-centered
Make it by the mile, sell it by the foot; a patch product like this is often a square or rectangle to maximize yield from the larger roll. Part of this activity was to explore human-centered concepts that would exceed the patient’s needs and be sensitive to the manufacturing yield.
Patient and Dermatologist interviews
Interview sessions across LA, NYC, and Minneapolis / St Paul revealed details living with Psoriasis and treating the skin issue with a variety of therapies.
Step, Jump, Leap Concept Testing
A range of concepts were shown: Select-a-Size Patch Roll, Contoured Graphic Patches, and 3D-scan Patches. Keep it simple stupid; an overwhelming interest in Select-a-Size.
patient-inspired concept sketching
Invigorated from the in-person interviews and concept testing, a new round of concepts emerged. Based around the Step Concept of Select-a-Size and patient customization.
Select-a-Size: Grid
Trace your psoriasis and cut to size with scissors
Select-a-Size: Honeycomb
Perforated field of hexagons to create your own patch size
Select-a-Size: Small, Medium, Large
Three perforated patches nested in one large patch
Transdermal Film Prototyping
Access to 3M’s entire transdermal medical film library to prototype the Select-a-Size concepts.
Internal Testing with 3M Employees
Using a latex glove to simulate Psoriasis on the hand, participants applied the patch concepts noting any trouble during application.
Patented
After another round of patient / dermatologist testing with the prototyped concepts, Honeycomb was the clear winner. The concept went through multiple rounds of design detailing to nail down the proper perforation and because of the nesting capability of the hexagon design, the manufacturing yield was 97%! Leaving only 3% of waste for this unique design.
But Wait There’s More…
An enlightening idea from a large group workshop revealed a potential future combining camera detection and on-demand printing to customize the transdermal patch with a patient’s exact wound size and surrounding skin color. A quick storyboard was put together as a final design deliverable to the Drug-Delivery program team.