AccurayCyberknife

OVERVIEW

Accuray develops, manufactures, and sells radiotherapy systems that make cancer treatments shorter, safer, personalized, and more effective, ultimately enabling patients to live longer, better lives. The company’s most radically innovative platform, called the CyberKnife, needed a design overhaul. The existing CyberKnife is built around an automated assembly robot from KUKA, which was no longer being manufactured and being replaced by a smaller, higher-performing model. In addition, the overall look and feel of the system were aging, and no longer reflected the values of the company.

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INSIGHT

Mighty had the opportunity to create an entirely new treatment experience for the patient. To gain insight, we employed the use of ethnography, interviewing patients, hospital administrators, service technicians, and physicists. We discovered that patients wanted a calming experience because cancer treatments were a very traumatic time in their lives. Hospital administrators and service techs wanted a system that could be installed and brought up quickly and easy to access in case of repairs. We referenced spa experiences, and forms that connoted serenity. As a result, the exterior surfaces reflect those of smooth river stones, and the color palette uses a soft, calming white, with accents of subtle green illumination. We also reduced the amount of exposed cabling by 80% and designed the access panels to be manageable by a single service tech.