EchoNous Reinvents Hosting System for Clinical Nursing Tools, Announcing New AI Station™ Aimed at Lowering Health System Costs

By AIT News Desk On Aug 7, 2018

A blank sheet, a Nike designer, and advice from top health systems to create a platform raising convenience for nurses through clinical functionality and premium material performance

EchoNous, an innovator focused on delivering intelligent medical tools, announces the release of the AI Station™, a new docking system especially designed for emerging nursing tools, aimed at raising convenience for nurses and lowering costs for health systems. With the goal of reinventing what has historically been an afterthought medical device element, EchoNous commissioned an iconic industrial designer, Nike’s former Global Footwear Creative Director and Product Innovation Director Dave Schenone, and listened carefully to clinicians and biomedical leaders at one of the nation’s top health systems.

“Everything from colors, to selection of materials, to the most minute of daily functions were reconsidered from a blank sheet of paper and through a fresh set of eyes”

“Everything from colors, to selection of materials, to the most minute of daily functions were reconsidered from a blank sheet of paper and through a fresh set of eyes,” said Niko Pagoulatos, COO of EchoNous. “Quite importantly we have integrated a ‘flexible electronic hub’ into the AI Station, aimed at both current and newly emerging AI functionality tasks.”

The AI station is a uniquely expandable platform that integrates EchoNous’ current intelligent tools, the Uscan bladder scanner and recently released EchoNous Vein, as well as devices currently in development. Together, this family of tools will powerfully utilize emerging artificial intelligence methods along with the company’s extremely miniaturized ultrasound platform to conquer everyday problems in healthcare.

Designed from the ground up, EchoNous reimagined every component of the nursing dock, based on first-hand direct input from nurses and biomedical engineers in the creation of this new AI Station.

Key design elements include a more narrow lateral design for better maneuvering in tight spaces, a lower base height to fit underneath a hospital bed — enabling the entire cart to be closer to the patient, probe cords docked in an “inner channel” to prevent snagging and tripping, and importantly, the use of the best materials available today in consideration of aggressive infection control techniques used in hospitals today.

EchoNous chose AI Station materials with the goal of optimizing durability and cleanability while maintaining a low weight for ease of maneuvering. Featured materials include chemically-resistant anodized aluminum, Tritan plastic, specifically designed for durability and offering a much higher level of chemical resistance than previous generation polymers, and stainless steel, which is widely recognized for its high resistance to chemicals.

Seeking to bring a sense of art to the otherwise mundane approach to device design, EchoNous commissioned Dave Schenone to apply his “Attract, Engage, and Capture” framework of innovating new products. Schenone began his distinguished design career imagining the future of home computing at the Xerox Advanced Research Center, the Atari Corporation, and Hewlett Packard in Silicon Valley during the 1980s. He later held the most senior design director position at Nike for more than two decades, overseeing the build out of the Nike Innovation Process and leading the company’s creative approach to multiple Olympic games.

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