Rad Desktop
Overview
Rad Desktop is a workflow management software designed for radiologists under the GE Centricity brand. The product integrates domain expertise from a strategic partnership with UPMC, ensuring that user research and testing—both formative and summative—are conducted on-site before each engineering sprint. This close collaboration with real users fosters a participatory design process, allowing for iterative design verification and continuous refinement of features.
Design-Driven Innovation
The success of Rad Desktop lies in its user-centered design approach, which ensures that every feature addresses real user pain points and enhances efficiency. As a UX designer, I played a key role in shaping the product experience by:
- Conducting extensive user research and usability testing to understand radiologists’ workflow needs and pain points.
- Facilitating participatory design workshops with radiologists to co-create and validate solutions before development.
- Ensuring seamless task flows and reducing cognitive load by designing intuitive interfaces and interactions tailored to radiology workflows.
- Iterating quickly on designs based on real-time feedback, ensuring continuous alignment with user needs and business objectives.
Key Features & UX Contributions
Rad Desktop leverages modern web technologies, with a front-end built in AngularJS and backed by GE Predix. The platform enhances radiologists' workflow through:
- Smart Workload Balancing (AutoServe): Designed an intelligent rule-based system that streamlines study allocation, reducing inefficiencies and improving turnaround time.
- Multi-Location Worklists: Developed an intuitive worklist structure that accommodates radiologists working across multiple facilities while maintaining clarity and accessibility.
- Imaging-Related Clinical Context (IRCC): Led the design of NLP-driven clinical context features to surface relevant patient history seamlessly within the workflow.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Created user-friendly collaboration tools to enable seamless case discussion and study sharing among radiologists.
- Third-Party Dictation Tool Integration: Ensured a frictionless experience for voice dictation by designing a smooth integration with existing desktop tools.
Designing a complex user interface within a browser window required balancing usability, performance, and accessibility while maintaining an intuitive user experience. By integrating human-centered design principles, I was able to simplify workflows, reduce redundant actions, and enhance overall efficiency.
Design System & Cross-Product Consistency
Beyond interaction design, I was responsible for ensuring cross-product consistency within the GE Enterprise Imaging division. This included:
- Leading the HDx (GE Healthcare design system) integration and style guide development, ensuring a unified design language across multiple products.
- Defining interaction design patterns and visual language standards to create consistency across GE imaging products.
- Aligning UX strategy across Rad Desktop, Universal Viewer, ZFP, Admin Console, and Native Mammography to provide a seamless user experience across platforms.
Validating Designs Through Testing
Rad Desktop underwent rigorous on-site testing with radiologists using MVPs and prototypes to validate new features and user requests before implementation. This iterative process allowed for early issue detection and quick refinements, resulting in a polished, effective product.
This approach also met FDA Class II medical device requirements, reducing errors, controlling design changes, and balancing user needs with business objectives. By embedding design thinking into development, Rad Desktop delivers business value while optimizing radiologists’ efficiency and satisfaction.
The prototype was tested on Google Chrome.
