Case Study: Design that Matters achieves lifesaving newborn care (5,000+ treated) with SOLIDWORKS

An International Team of 80 Uses SOLIDWORKS to Design Lifesaving Medical Devices

Design that Matters is a non-profit that designs low-cost medical devices for the developing world and faced the challenge of coordinating an international team of students, volunteers, professional designers and manufacturers to take concepts from classroom prototypes to manufacturable products like the Firefly phototherapy unit and the Pelican pulse oximeter. To manage collaboration across more than 80 contributors and multiple partners, they relied on SolidWorks software (including PhotoView 360) to capture, share and iterate CAD models.

Using SolidWorks, DtM embodied student concepts, generated renderings for expert review, exchanged detailed CAD databases among design and manufacturing partners, and performed thermal/optical analyses and mold tooling preparations. SolidWorks-enabled workflows let partners refine designs for manufacture, and the Firefly has already treated over 5,000 newborns with jaundice in ten countries—while the SolidWorks-based process continues to accelerate development of the Pelican pulse oximeter and other life‑saving devices.

Design that Matters