Industrial - Bachelor
Haemodialysis is vital for those with end-stage kidney disease, with many Australians avoiding home treatment due to fears of contamination and connection errors. Diasette simplifies setup through a sterile, pre-assembled cassette, reducing error and anxiety while empowering patients and caregivers to manage treatment confidently, restoring autonomy, dignity, and normalcy in home care.
Haemodialysis (HD) is a life-sustaining yet physically and emotionally taxing treatment. In clinical settings, patients often spend four to five hours per session, multiple times per week, tethered to a machine in a highly clinical environment. This routine not only disrupts daily life but also reinforces feelings of dependence and loss of control. The transition toward home-based care aims to alleviate these burdens by reducing travel, restoring flexibility, and creating a more familiar, comforting environment. However, the move to home care introduces new challenges around safety, sterility, and confidence.
Through both primary and secondary research, several recurring themes emerged surrounding the lived experience of dialysis, spanning emotional, physical, and logistical challenges. Insights from patient interviews, caregiver perspectives, and clinical data revealed clear patterns of anxiety around setup complexity, infection risk, and loss of independence. Quantitative findings and thematic analysis further supported these insights, highlighting opportunities where design could reduce cognitive load and restore confidence in home treatment.
Simplifying, the complexity of the process from wo to go… which would enable more individuals to close that knowledge deficit gap.
Clinician P3 (Vic)
It comes down to education, from the staff… and getting the patients to meet objectives.
Clinician p1 (QLD)
The challenge is complacency… they get used to doing the same thing over and over again, so they get a little less good at it.
Clinician P2 (QLD)
Research revealed a significant divide between what patients are taught within the safety of a clinical environment and what they must independently recall and execute at home. In clinics, nurses guide each step of the dialysis process, preparing lines, managing connections, and maintaining sterility. However, once in a home setting, patients and caregivers are expected to replicate these complex procedures from memory, often with minimal supervision. This shift exposes gaps in knowledge retention and procedural confidence, amplifying the risk of contamination or setup errors. The cognitive and emotional load of translating clinical instruction into home practice underscores the need for intuitive, supportive design solutions that bridge this divide.
Diasette has been designed to simplify haemodialysis setup and uphold sterility through an intuitive, human-centred design. Once mounted onto the machine interface, the system operates hands-free, streamlining connection and priming while minimising user error.
The cassette opens flat, allowing clinicians to assemble and inspect components easily in satellite facilities before secure closure. Its split configuration (Level 1, Level 2, and Hinge) maintains sterility during use while enabling selective disassembly for cleaning and recycling, reducing material waste and moving beyond the single-use norms of current systems.
Functional rib details incorporate subtle arrows to indicate the direction of flow, guiding users through the tubing sequence. Colour inlays (red for arterial and blue for venous) align with ISO standards, ensuring immediate visual clarity and safe line traceability for patients and clinicians alike. The system’s layout adheres to minimum bend radii for medical tubing, preventing occlusion or kinking and supporting consistent flow throughout treatment.
By combining clear visual communication, reconfigurable structure, and a focus on sustainable material use, Diasette transforms dialysis setup from a technical challenge into a confident, repeatable, and patient-friendly process, bridging clinical precision with the emotional needs of home-based care.
Chosen for its exceptional impact resistance, chemical stability, and biocompatibility, medical-grade polycarbonate ensures the cassette maintains structural integrity under repeated use and sterilisation. The satin, non-gloss finish reduces surface glare during monitoring and provides a clean, clinical aesthetic while minimising fingerprint visibility. The semi-translucent nature of PC also supports visual inspection of fluid pathways – a critical requirement for dialysis safety.
Formed as part of the same injection-moulded process as Level 2, these clips are popped out during post-processing to ensure consistent material compatibility and colour continuity. Their press-fit design allows for easy assembly while maintaining tight dimensional tolerances, supporting secure tubing management and reducing the risk of disconnection or contamination.
Mediprene, a medical-grade thermoplastic, was selected for its soft-touch, flexible, and non-slip properties, allowing the mounts to absorb vibration and secure the cassette during operation. The matte finish enhances tactile comfort and prevents reflections when used in bright clinical or home environments. Additionally, TPE’s biocompatibility and sterilisation resistance make it ideal for patient-contact components.
316L stainless steel provides corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and longevity under frequent cleaning and contact with disinfectants. The brushed finish aligns with medical device standards, offering a professional, hygienic surface that resists smudging and wear, while providing subtle visual contrast to the polymer components.
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Tadhg is a passionate designer and enjoys solving complex problems in need of creative solutions. He challenges himself to think outside the box and approaches all design problems through a humanitarian lens. With design approaches focused on inclusivity and impact, Tadhg hopes to be part of positive design change.