BLOND has redesigned a revolutionary medical device that reduces hair loss in cancer patients.
Hair loss is one of the most well-known side effects of chemotherapy.
The drugs used in this treatment attack fast-growing cancer cells, which tend to be localised. But because they travel through the blood stream, they also attack hair cells, as they are similarly fast-growing.
Cancer Research says hair loss can be “distressing and devastating” to people battling cancer.
According to academic research, 47% of breast cancer patients consider hair loss the most traumatic aspect of their treatment.
In fact, Luminate found through its R&D and trials that it can be a barrier to patients undertaking chemotherapy treatment at all.
Currently the way to try and minimise hair loss is to attach patients to a large fridge-like device in hospital for a few hours each time. This cools the scalp to constrict blood vessels and reduce blood flow to hair follicles.
The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical
But Lily is a new device created by Luminate Medical, a start-up based in Galway, Ireland.
It uses compression instead of cooling. “With a small amount of compression, we close off the blood vessels on the scalp, which stops blood filled with chemo getting to the hair follicles,” explains Aaron Hannon CEO, and co-founder of Luminate.
Lily is the first device to tackle the problem in this way.
Hannon and his team had already engineered a piece of head gear that covered the scalp and hugged the jaw and cheeks to keep it in place. But they realised they needed some product design input to improve how patients would feel about it.
“We’d focused on the scientific efficacy of the product. We didn’t optimise for perception in the early stages,” Hannon says.
Luminate had a technology investor in San Francisco, who recommended BLOND for its work with consumer products.
The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical
The east London agency was briefed to come up with a design that would feel more familiar. As all the technology was in place, BLOND founder and creative director James Melia describes their work on Lily as more of a styling exercise.
“Our aim was to make the current design more approachable and wearable,” he explains.
“It needs to be worn during the chemotherapy treatment, so it needs to not feel too scary. And it’s worn on the way home, and at home, so it’s not just for a hospital setting.”
The design also had to work for patients with different head sizes, which Melia admits made for “a tricky” brief.
As part of their research, BLOND looked at what people are used to wearing on their heads, and took inspiration from cycle helmets.
The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical
Lily’s original design had a thin shell on top, making it visually unappealing, says Melia. BLOND instead gave the helmet more volume, to improve its look.
“Our job is always about reducing volume,” Melia says of its other product design jobs. So this approach to bulk up the product was unusual.
To improve the user experience, the previous heavy straps have been ditched in favour of cushioned Velcro alternatives that are adjustable. That means the helmet fits comfortably on a wide range of head shapes and sizes.
The straps can also be removed and magnetically reattached for an improved user experience.
The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical
BLOND added a surface pattern across the top of the shell, giving it a hard-wearing texture without it feeling too rugged, and breaking up the large form, so that it’s more familiar and visually digestible.
BLOND also designed a recyclable carry case, made of recyclable felt, for Lily.
Luminate’s goal is for a large number of patients to be able to use this all around the world. “We want to make it normal for patients to retain their hair during cancer,” Hannon says.
“Cooling treatment has varying success rates depending on the chemo, and for some more aggressive chemotherapies, this can drop below 50% of patients retaining their hair,” he adds.
“Because Lily is portable, Luminate aims for better hair retention, because patients can wear the device for longer after their treatment.”
Lily is undergoing the final stages of medical trials, and is awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the US.
Close-up detail of the anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet
Close-up detail of the anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet