Role
UX/UI designer
Target
B2B
Year
2020-2021
Duration
1 year
Team
2 designers
2 engineers
2 business experts
Skills
Framer
Figma
Principle
Zeplin
Miro
The CONVIVO Digital Biopsy Tool is an innovative medical device that enables neurosurgeons to perform digital biopsies without tissue extraction, while collaborating remotely with pathologists in real-time. As the UX/UI designer on this transformative project, I worked to create seamless digital experiences that connect surgeons and pathologists during critical surgical procedures.
Neurosurgeons needed a way to make quick, confident diagnostic decisions during brain tumor surgeries. The existing process was time-consuming and required physical tissue samples to be transported for analysis. Our goal was to create a digital platform that would enable real-time collaboration between surgeons and pathologists while maintaining the highest standards of medical accuracy.
My Role & Responsibilities
As the UX/UI designer, I:
Led user research sessions at Hôpital Rechts der Isar in Munich
Created and tested sacrificial concepts with users
Designed low and high-fidelity prototypes
Facilitated design feedback sessions with stakeholders
Ensured consistency across all user touchpoints
Documented user flows and interaction patterns
Translated technical requirements into intuitive interfaces
I conducted extensive user research to understand the needs of both neurosurgeons and pathologists. At Hôpital Rechts der Isar, I observed the current workflow firsthand, which revealed several key insights:
1. Pathologists were using manual workarounds like sending USB drives through pneumatic tube systems
2. Screen sharing technology was being used for remote diagnostics
3. There was a strong need for improved diagnostic accuracy through remote collaboration
The research phase included:
- Contextual inquiries in operating rooms
- In-depth interviews with 25 medical professionals
- Workflow mapping sessions
- Usability testing of early concepts
Based on the research insights, I created several sacrificial concepts to test with users. These included:
1. A mobile interface for pathologists to receive real-time notifications
2. A desktop interface for surgical teams to manage cases
3. A collaborative viewing platform for image analysis
4. A digital annotation system for highlighting areas of interest
These concepts were presented through interactive prototypes and tested with users at various hospitals, including follow-up sessions at Hôpital Rechts der Isar.
The sacrificial concepts helped me and the team creating the ideal user journey, which then I could use to design alone high-fidelity prototypes using Figma and Framer. I conducted multiple rounds of task-based scenarios for usability testing. The prototypes were tested with:
- 11 neurosurgeons
- 14 pathologists
- 5 operating room nurses
The final design included three main components:
1. Surgical Team Interface
- Real-time image capture and sharing
- Case management dashboard
- Integration with existing hospital systems
2. Pathologist Interface
- High-resolution image viewing
- Digital annotation tools
- Synchronous communication features
3. Mobile Companion App (only on a concept level)
- Push notifications for urgent cases
- Quick case review capabilities
- Secure communication channel
Concepts translated into UI screen for testing
For the AANS (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) fair, the prototypes were used to present and simulate the future evolution of Convivo, generating excitement within the community and gathering further valuable feedback from visitors.
