Qvella Rapid Blood Analyzer

Qvella’s rapid blood analyzer is a compact diagnostic instrument designed to support fast sample preparation and analysis through integrated industrial design, enclosure architecture, and prototype manufacturing development.  

The Challenge:

Qvella engaged Inertia to help translate an emerging diagnostic platform into a product that felt coherent, credible, and manufacturable. Early in the program, the need was not simply to design an enclosure, but to shape a usable and commercially viable instrument architecture around a complex internal system. The analyzer had to move beyond a technical concept into a product experience that could support real-world use, internal packaging, and a more resolved market-facing form.

As the program advanced, the challenge shifted from front-end product definition into manufacturing execution. Released designs had to hold up through DFM, CNC prototype production, finishing, fit validation, and shipment planning. Rear panel alignment issues required engineering revision before manufacturing could resume. Pre-fitting fixtures were developed so enclosure panels could be validated before shipment, and material-process assumptions had to be adjusted where original selections were not well suited to prototype manufacturing. The challenge was continuity: preserving product intent while resolving the realities of build, fit, finish, and delivery.

The Approach:

Inertia supported the program across both product definition and manufacturing transfer. On the front end, we helped establish the analyzer’s industrial design direction and enclosure architecture so the system could evolve from an emerging diagnostic concept into a more resolved instrument platform. This work focused on creating a product expression that could accommodate internal complexity while presenting a cleaner, more intentional user-facing form.

As the project moved forward, that intent was carried into prototype manufacturing. The program progressed through DFM review, CNC machining of plastic components, coordination of metal parts, finishing, coating, inserting, inspection, and packaging. To reduce downstream assembly risk, Inertia developed pre-fitting fixtures from instrument base and rear plate data so enclosure panels could be validated and serialized in sets before shipping. When prototype constraints emerged, the team adapted process strategy rather than forcing nominal intent through the wrong method, including alternate material and manufacturing assessments for specific components.

The Outcome:

The result was a rapid blood analyzer program that bridged early product vision and manufacturing reality with greater continuity. Inertia helped Qvella move from concept-level product development into a controlled prototype manufacturing phase without losing coherence in the instrument’s form, fit, or finish.

The system achieved:

Fully realized industrial design and enclosure architecture for a market-facing diagnostic instrument
DFM-led transition from released design into CNC prototype manufacturing
Pre-fitting fixture development to verify enclosure fit before shipment
Engineering-change resolution to maintain alignment between enclosure and internal structure

Finishing and process refinement across plastic, metal, and cosmetic components
Packaging and phased delivery planning for multiple prototype units

By carrying product intent through manufacturing transfer Qvella advanced the analyzer into a more mature prototype program with clearer manufacturability, better fit validation, and a stronger foundation for future production.

Services Provided

Concept Development & Validation

Requirements Definition

Technology Feasibility

User Needs Development

System Architecture

Assumption Validation

Concept Prototyping

R&D

Prototyping & Rapid Builds

Human Factors & Usability

Industrial Design

Mechanical Design

User Interface Design

Software & Firmware Design

Electronics Design

System Design

Quality Management

Requirements & Risk Management

Verification & Validation

Design For Manufacturing

Low Volume Manufacturing & Pilot Builds

Manufacturing Transfer & Launch

Supply Chain Management

Precision Fabrication & Assembly

Value Engineering

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