Can a single product serve a global market? We started with a cost model and a list of needs. Europe and North America wanted features and performance. The rest of the world wanted affordability. We delivered both. We did our research in China, Europe and North America. We visited hospitals, doctors’ offices and clinics. We took photos, asked questions and searched for patterns. We stripped away frills and worked with essentials: security, mobility and storage.

Hospitals are high mobility and clinics are low mobility settings. We discovered clinics want carts because they signify hospital-level quality. We focused on essentials and kept surface details to a minimum. We created a dual-height handle for comfort without complexity. We angled the Mac 800 to make reading the screen easier and we developed a special clip to keep the EKG safe and secure.

The design we developed for emerging markets found its way to Europe and North America. Customers everywhere liked the small footprint, simplicity and affordability of the design. The value cart we designed for China became GE Healthcare’s global offering. We used research from Europe and casters from China to build a product for the world.