Driving insight & confidence with intention in MedTech product development

Our purpose-built tool for MedTech usability, insight generation, and design acceleration

Design with insight.

Validate in context.

Deliver with confidence.

Meet SULi, our Simulation Usability Lab that brings together high-fidelity clinical simulation and deep user-centered design to help MedTech teams accelerate innovation and de-risk product development.

We do this by integrating real-time testing with environments that reflect the complexity of real-world clinical settings enabling our partners to refine usability, align with regulatory demands, and build solutions that truly serve patients and clinicians. The result? A powerful convergence of technical rigor and human insight, comprised in a uniquely agile approach that transforms how medical technologies are conceived, developed, and adopted.

Our work is grounded in impact. Strategically embedded within IDE Group’s Minneapolis Design & Development Studio, our Lab helps innovators move with speed and certainty—so the right ideas reach the right hands, at the right time.

  • Four modular clinical simulation contexts replicating core medical environments

  • Co-located with design & engineering enabling real-time iteration and testing

  • Evidence generation for usability requirements in regulatory submissions for the FDA

  • Confident investment decisions backed by real-world data

  • Available for both facility rental and executional support with flexible scheduling and scalable access models

Whether you’re planning an early-stage usability study or need a high-fidelity testing environment for your next regulatory milestone, we’re here to help.
Contact us to explore how SULi can support your MedTech development with precision, speed, and confidence.

Built for realism. Designed for impact.

Contextual environments

Our facility supports realistic usability studies across a range of clinical use cases. Each simulation space is fully modular and reconfigurable, enabling tailored environments for diverse device types and testing needs.

Procedural operating room workflows, sterile field interactions.

Imaging-assisted tasks and spatial validation.

Areas for patient throughput and interface evaluation between a control room and imaging suite.

Representative staff-led acute workflows and home- care simulations.

Observation, Collaboration, and Control.

Integrated observation suite

  • Multiple, flexible HD cameras and mountable options for diverse capture focus and angles.
  • Multi-room observation space for observer flexibility with session focus and separate meeting attendance.
  • Live streaming to observing and remote stakeholders.
  • Secure recording & playback for post-session analysis.

The space is designed to allow that all stakeholders, including designers, engineers, and regulatory leads, can participate without disrupting the session, promoting alignment across functions.

Embedded in the development lifecycle.

What makes our lab different

Unlike third-party or standalone facilities, our Lab is embedded within an active product innovation studio. This creates a uniquely efficient feedback loop between research, design, prototyping and validation.

  • Usability and Design teams are steps away, not time zones away.
  • Prototypes can evolve between sessions, not between phases.
  • Insights are applied instantly, reducing iteration cycles by weeks or months.
  • Access to collaborative meeting space and integration with the broader IDE Group team.

Our model offers immediate application of insights to design and commercialization strategy along with on-demand study support expertise – while supporting continuous development and improving decision-making clarity at every stage.

Applications across the lifecycle

Phase Capability Outcome
Early Discovery Generative user research Identify unmet needs and workflow constraints
Mid-Stage Design Concept evaluation & formative usability testing Refine interfaces, reduce user error
Late-Stage Validation Simulated use and summative testing De-risk regulatory submission
Post-Market Iterative refinement and feature extension Support lifecycle management

We built the Simulation Usability Lab to bridge the gap between insight and execution. Our goal is to help MedTech teams move faster and with more certainty by embedding human factors and usability into the fabric of design and development.

Kent DiasAbeygunawardena
Director of USA Programs, IDE Group

Flexible engagement models

We recognize the pace and pressure of medical innovation. SULi operates with the flexibility and support that dynamic development programs demand:

  • Flexible 24-hour access and booking windows for rapid or recurring sessions during the entire study duration.

  • Custom protocol development with in-house human factors specialists.

  • Scalable access models for startups, corporate teams, and partner networks.

  • Compliant data capture workflows aligned with FDA expectations.

Who we work with

Whether you’re exploring, testing, or scaling, suli can become an extension of your team. We support a wide range of partners across the MedTech ecosystem – from venture-backed startups to Fortune-500 MedTech leaders.

  • Startups establishing initial designs or pursuing early funding.

  • Established Strategics accelerating portfolio growth or addressing post-market signals.

  • Human factors teams conducting formative and validation studies.

  • Innovation arms of health systems and academic incubators.

Contact Us

Whether you’re planning an early-stage usability study or need a high-fidelity testing environment for your next regulatory milestone, we’re here to help.


Contact us to explore how SULi can support your MedTech development with precision, speed, and confidence.