Medisign explores how to design products, services and systems to solve complex health challenges

As we face increasingly complex health challenges, there is an urgent need to rethink the fundamentals of our healthcare ecosystems. The Medisign Master’s Specialisation at TU Delft IDE will equip you with the tools and knowledge necessary to design innovative products, interactions, services and strategies that can realise a healthier future for individuals and societies.

Since 1998, the Medisign specialisation at TU Delft has continuously evolved to reflect the multifaceted nature of healthcare. Initially focused on healthcare product design, it now encompasses interaction, service and system design.

In this hands-on programme, students explore methodologies such as patient journey mapping and systems thinking through real-world projects. They work with healthcare providers, patients, industry experts and researchers who are pioneering new design approaches. Over two years, students build a portfolio of health-related design projects and gain insight into the complexities of the healthcare ecosystem. Graduates emerge with a unique blend of design and healthcare expertise, ready to improve lives through innovative, sustainable solutions.

Explore student projects

Yoon prototyped a system called the Cacophony Mapper, which tracks sound stimuli and nurses’ stress levels to study and improve the sound environment in an intensive care unit.

Cacaphony Mapper: Noise Fatigue in the ICU

Yoon Lee

(2019)

Martina wanted to improve the shared decision-making process in the cardiology department at Amsterdam UMC by creating a booklet on life-prolonging treatments for patients with advanced heart failure.

Deciding with Heart

Martina Pozzoni

(2019)

Maira designed a mobile application to provide CSN parents with a common language to reflect and share their perspectives on thinking about the future.

Future Journeys: a tool for special need kids’ parents

Maira Ribelles Armell

(2020)

Iris designed a tool to help asthma patients self-manage through personalisation, increased awareness and structured tools.

VEA: Asthma Self-Management

Iris Ritsma

(2019)

Laura designed ICoon, a tool to facilitate more effective and efficient patient handovers in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The art of handing over

Laura Schrauwen

(2020)

Hanneke proposes a tool to improve communication between patients and specialists in the digital world of 2030.

The consultation of the future

Hanneke van der Velden

(2019)

Talitha designed the Pentaport, a new gateway for complex endovascular aortic repair that minimizes blood leakage.

Pentaport: gateway for aortic repair

Talitha Brenninkmeyer

(2019)

Karen designed a new concept for a fitness tracker service, including a mobile application and a smartwatch app.

Balloon Journey towards future-self

Karen Gonzalez Fernandez

(2019)

Frequently asked questions

You must ensure that you meet the following requirements to qualify for the Medisign specialisation

  • You must be enrolled in one of the Master’s programmes at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Either Strategic Product Design (SPD), Design for Interaction (DfI) or Integrated Product Design (IPD).
  • You must complete at least one Master-specific design studio with a health or healthcare focus of at least 10 ECTS.
  • Complete a minimum of 2 Medisign electives (2x 5ECTS), with at least 1 elective from IDE.
  • You must complete a health-related graduation project.

You can find out more about the requirements and curriculum here.

If you meet the above requirements, you can fill in the form here to apply for Medisign.

The Medisign MSc Specialisation is an accreditation you will receive on your MSc diploma. We urge you to complete the form here as soon as you know you want to become part of the Medisign community. You will be added to the Brightspace Medisign environment and invited to all Medisign events.

You can choose to do a health-related case in one of thedesign studios in any one of the Master programs, either in semester 1 or semester 2. Ask the coordinator of the design studio about opportunities for a health-related case at the start of the course.

Yes, some electives from outside the IDE faculty can be considered. If you would like to do an elective from another faculty or another university in the Netherlands that has a healthcare focus, please contact us (medisign-IDE@tudelft.nl) to discuss the possibilities.

Yes, a health-focused internship or research internship can also count as a Medisign elective. However, you need to make sure it is registered within the faculty as an official internship elective and contact the Medisign coordinator to make sure the internship brief qualifies as a Medisign focused internship.

Yes, however it is important to make sure that you have completed the credit requirements for the specialisation including the 10 ECTS for the Master-specific healthcare focused project in a design studio. Even if you are in your second year, you can fill in the form here to apply for the Medisign specialisation and you will be added to the Brightspace environment.

The Medisign specialisation offers a direction within your design career. You will be able to build a portfolio of healthcare-related design projects that showcase your experience in the real-life healthcare ecosystem. You will learn to speak the language of the healthcare sector in order to communicate effectively with them. You will expand your network through the various real-world projects.

A course or project is marked as ‘Medisign’ if it deals with topics such as care, cure and/or prevention in the field of health and health care. This theme should be described at the beginning of the course or project – in the project brief or course description – and not added at a later stage. If you are in doubt as to whether a course, project brief or topic fits the Medisign Specialisation, please contact the course coordinator and the Medisign coordinator.

Read the latest interviews, news and insights from the Medisign Community

In this podcast episode of Out of the Blue professor Maaike Kleinsmann will answer the question: How can design research improve our health, and is it better to design for prevention or for the cure?

A Designer walks into a Hospital with Maaike Kleinsmann

Professor Judith Rietjens goes into a conversation about her line of work as researcher and her double position at IDE and Erasmus Medical Centre.

Interview with Judith Rietjens: “We need to cherish the conversation again”

IDE Researcher Valentijn Visch designs solutions to motivate people to pay attention to their health. For this, he uses techniques such as game design and interactive storytelling.

Becoming healthier through smart game design

All athletes, from amateurs joggers to elite footballers, experience sports injuries. What if medical professionals could predict when those injuries were going to occur and stop the damaging activity before the injury happens? In her PhD research, Annemarijn Steijlen takes a step in that direction.

Using sensors to stop sports injuries

Think about the last time you opened a jar, wrote with a pen, or simply tied your shoelaces. These seemingly simple actions rely heavily on the remarkable flexibility and strength of our thumbs. Helen Yuan's PhD research on thumb joint mechanics aims to improve treatments for patients experiencing pain and limited mobility due to osteoarthritis.

Improving implants for a tiny joint with a big impact

Xueliang Li's PhD explored how wearable technology can identify stress triggers, from pressing deadlines to specific locations, especially in individuals with high stress or PTSD.

Handling stress: using wearable technology to help people with PTSD

The TU Delft's Medisign program is proud to announce the release of the "Design in Health Graduation Showcase 2019 - 2021" - a collection of 229 graduation projects from students of the Industrial Design Engineering program that aim to improve health.

The Design in Health Graduation Showcase 2019 – 2021

In this podcast episode of Out of the Blue professor Richard Goossens gives answer to the question: What if doctors understood design for healthcare, and designers the healthcare world?

Clashing Disciplines in Healthcare with Richard Goossens

Designing a Healthier Future Together: Become a partner

Transforming healthcare requires collaboration. Partner with Medisign to redefine the future of healthcare through design. Combining your expertise with our design approach, we’ll tackle society’s most pressing health challenges together – whether you’re a hospital, medical device company, corporation, design agency, NGO or government agency.


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