Patient Record Holder
Designing for Scale in Healthcare Manufacturing
Visual Systems Healthcare
Client: Visual Systems Healthcare (VSH) is a leading UK manufacturer of patient record holders supplied to NHS and private providers. Their existing range relied on hand-fabricated, powder-coated steel units in separate wall-mounted and bed-mounted versions. The products were durable, but costly, variable in quality and difficult to scale. VSH asked Pd-m to consolidate the line into a single, modern solution that improved usability, cleanability and commercial viability.
Approach: Pd-m reframed the brief as a platform redesign, defining a clear development roadmap from concept to manufacture. We created and selected a modular “hook and pouch” architecture enabling one product to serve both mounting modes. CAD development was supported by FEA, risk register and FMEA, then validated through full-scale prototyping and iterative testing. Clinical trials across multiple hospitals confirmed compatibility with varied bed frames, procurement expectations and infection control cleaning requirements.
Challenges: The core challenge was replacing steel fabrication with a fully moulded polymer design while matching strength, durability and clinical wipe-down performance. The attachment mechanism needed to be removable for flexibility, yet secure under load and resistant to misuse. The design also had to eliminate dirt traps, remain serviceable if damaged, and deliver engineered nesting to unlock major storage and shipping efficiencies.
Deliverables: Pd-m delivered end-to-end product development from concept through to production. This included modular architecture design, detailed CAD and FEA validation, risk register and FMEA, material selection and DFM optimisation, tooling specification and supplier liaison, T0 sample refinement, full-scale prototyping and clinical validation, alongside packaging optimisation and rendered assets to support procurement engagement and commercial launch.
Impact: The final two-part injection-moulded ABS solution reduced SKUs by 50% and removed metal inserts entirely. Product weight fell by more than 50%, while nesting created a 72mm stack headroom, enabling 5–6× more units per shipping volume than the legacy products. Pd-m specified and managed tooling through T0 sampling and optimisation, giving VSH consistent quality, scalable production and a significantly lower-cost route to market.
“Overall, it’s been a very positive experience. Following our simple brief, Pd-m did their own research and talked confidently, with guidance of raw materials and excellent 3rd party liaison, raising questions that I wouldn’t have thought about - saving significant time and cost. Everything was done within budget, and the timescales were on target. I would happily do it all again.””