Arthrex is a global leader in surgical devices and medical education, and UEGroup has a long history of partnering together to bring innovation to the medical device field. Arthrex’s commitment to medical education extends beyond tools to provide comprehensive training and innovative, interactive experiences from their Naples, FL headquarters.
We set out to develop a digital resource to make the information taught in Athrex's Endoscopic Spine Educational Pathway more accessible, scannable, and interactive to shorten the learning curve for student surgeons and reduce the workload for teaching surgeons. We tested the concept with users to assess its perceived value and identify opportunities for improvement. By observing how users interact with the prototype and gathering their feedback, we fine-tuned the design, prioritizing usability, information clarity, and visual communication to maximize its impact. The outcomes were applied to refine the design direction, laying the groundwork for future development and technology recommendations.
Interactive educational resource for endoscopic spine training program
Before performing a procedure, surgeons typically review patient information and medical imagery to refresh their understanding of the surgical plan. However, current resources cover many approaches and are not normalized, making them difficult to reference in surgical prep. Surgeons who are new to a particular technique or those who don’t frequently perform it have to rely on personal contacts and notes, elongating the learning curve and slowing the adoption of new procedures.
To address this gap, we set out to create a conceptual design for a digital interactive educational resource to pair with Arthrex's endoscopic spine educational pathway. This resource aims to normalize support resources and optimize them for quick reference, using visual language and interactive infographics to simplify the procedure process, essentially acting as a cheat sheet for surgeons.
The reference guide creates a holistic training experience that improves the brand relationship. It reinforces the themes of in-person training in a scannable format for added convenience. The improved access and repetition of content shortens an otherwise challenging learning curve. Surgeons found it so valuable they reported wanting to share it with others, promoting Arthrex as the trusted endoscopic spine authority.
“I could see that being helpful if you teach residents… I could send it to them and say, like, these are the things I need you to be familiar with.”
How We Did It
Initial concept and testing with student surgeons
We created an initial concept that broke each procedure into steps and setup. We used a 3D model to illustrate each step, correlating it with medical imagery and surgical tools. We tested this concept with 6 student surgeons actively participating in the course, evaluating the concept for perceived value, information prioritization, and visual communication.
Reacting to the feedback from student surgeons, we made the authoring surgeons more present in the design by adding narrated videos and different procedure options tied to surgeon names. We removed lower-value features like notes and saved customizations to remove the complexity of requiring user accounts.
Focus group with teacher surgeons
For the tool to be adopted, it needs to be valuable to the surgeons who are teaching the program for them to recommend it to the student surgeons, the target user. We held a focus group with 3 program teachers to discuss the value and tradeoffs of the concept. The teachers saw value in an easy-access at-home resource. They felt the concept could help lay a foundation, so the one-on-one time in the class could be spent on more nuanced aspects of the surgery, and that students would reach out less with standard questions outside of class. However, they felt the current design was still too complicated with 3D, still images, and video. They recommended simplifying it further and making it more video-centric.
Updated design direction
Shift to a surgeon-narrated video experience to make the product feel simpler and more valuable at first glance. Maintain the details student surgeons want, but deprioritize them on the screen.
Revise the step navigation system for a video-focused experience to ensure that the use of video does not remove the quick answers use case where information is easily scannable.
Outcomes
In response to student and teacher feedback, we enhanced the design to make the resources in the app more connected to the teachers to feel like personally curated content for students. We centered the experience around narrated videos prepared by the teachers, using navigation to jump to areas of interest and data summaries to make content easily scannable. Users looking for a fully detailed experience can drill in further, viewing alternate approaches and tool details. This layered approach feels simple at the surface, but meets the complexity and details that student surgeons found so valuable.
