New ways of delivering health services are crucial for a sustainable health and care sector in the future. Within technology, there is a sea of new opportunities. The activity in the area is large, but there are several technical, practical and legal obstacles that one must overcome before solutions can be used on a large scale.

Norwegian Smart Care Lab have developed a methodology and service offerings for the verification of products, prototypes and product ideas. Their services contribute to faster development and commercialization of products and solutions.

With a design thinking approach, needs and opportunities are revealed, which help highlight benefits and set the direction for the companies. The effect of new solutions is tested and verified together with the user and service provider. NSCL tests through five phases; idea and needs, development, testing and piloting, certification and implementation.

Read about NSCLs usability test for the Danish company 4Mvideo here.

NSCL's core services:

• Stakeholder panel- market clarification test in a focus group
• Simulation- A scenario-based approach, ideal for getting participants to reflect on the relevant company's product/service in situations that are close to their everyday lives
• Functional lab test- prototype testing in a controlled lab environment
• Functional on-site test- observe and document the user experience when the solution is tested in a service perspective

User Participation

User participation is central to NSCL, as it is proven to give great value to involve the end-user and other relevant actors in the entire innovation and development process. It provides value both in terms of understanding the needs of the end-user, and in the shape of feedback that companies can apply in a development or implementation process.

See NSCLs website for more information about their methods and services.