idea
playground

  • brainstorming

  • consulting

  • research

"The field of Human Factors is singularly responsible for planning and building a sustainable future human civilization"
– an idea from Waldemar Karwowski,
past president of the Human Factors and Engineering Society

Medical Devices and Healthcare

Idea Playground, by Marc Egeth, Ph.D., offers extensive experience designing and conducting medical device and healthcare human factors studies:

  • FDA / regulatory Human Factors advisory support

  • Formative usability testing

  • Human Factors Validation / Summative Testing

  • Comparative usability studies

  • "Ease of use" studies: generate evidence that your product is easy to use for your end-users

  • Usability lab design, setup, and training - so you can run your own studies

Here are a few case studies and ideas to consider. If you would like to commission similar work, get in touch now!

Would you like healthcare or medical device human factors consulting assistance or to conduct a formative, validation, or ease of use human factors study?

Click to request a bid or use this form to start a conversation!

Humane Factors

keep reading for a deeper cut meant for HF and design researchers and practitioners, futurists, idealists, optimists, and like-minded individuals

Human factors is practical science fiction, fitting technology to actual people's needs. But if we are designing a sustainable future civilization, we should agree on what it looks like.At the least, we can aim for a common-denominator "basic utopia," where automations provide everyone a good baseline of safety and support, and after that, we all do what we choose (that doesn't harm others).We can also apply psychology for financial structures that let people get rich by ensuring that everyone has a good baseline ("selfish ladders"). Every step might be taken for selfish reasons - selfishness is a reliable human motivator - but the selfish steps ultimately lead somewhere good for us all.This economic approach might be labeled "meta-capitalism," where we guide the invisible hand of capitalism in a direction that serves the needs of people.Following are a few projects in various stages of development. Come join in!

Want to build something together? Or build up Idea Playground; take it in a new direction together? Or just chat? Get in touch!

Looking for more?
Continue to Ideas in Development

idea
playground

Ideas in Development

What do you think!? Dive in? Add something? Criticize something? Play "yes and"? Let's do it!

  • Universal feedback form: A place to log ideas, problems worth solving, complaints, errors and mistakes, major issues, minor resentments... Maybe someone has a solution to your problem; maybe you are not alone. Let's not lose what's on our minds!

  • Human Factors House Flipping: HF professionals invest in run-down properties, renovate with an eye to design and usability, and re-sell. Like house-flipping, but with an extra edge and opportunity to experiment. fwiw: shouldn't bedrooms have bedside sinks; why are we always walking to the bathroom just for a drink or to brush our teeth?

  • Universal degrees: Validated tests proving mastery comparable to college and post-graduate degrees at various tiers of schools. "GEDs" for anything open opportunities to more people.

  • Determine basic science priorities by collecting and publishing the questions of curiosity of children and students, especially when the asker is not fully satisfied by your answer! Some researchers don't have a particular other idea what to think about or work on, save maybe following what is popular or maybe what is fundable, or their own personal whim. But for basic science, humanity's curiosity can lead the way! For now? Use the form at the bottom of this page to log a question!

  • Mosquitoes as users: we're designing mosquito feeders to reduce human bites and interrupt the lifecycle of mosquito-vector parasites (without crashing the mosquito population or encouraging the evolution of resistance to control.)

  • Can oxygen concentrators improve memory? Maybe! Extend lifespan and healthspan? Perhaps... How about consumer-grade "red light devices," do they do anything? We're starting up a clinical study on "wellness" products for which FDA might not review claims, to see for ourselves.

  • Revieuber, fast for-profit peer-review publication connecting papers with qualified vetted reviewers, including demonstrated and validated equivalence in judgment. Peer review meets uber. Noting that the biomedical industry is well-funded and leverages peer review for its industry processes. ("Notification: You have a request to review a paper. Can you begin by this afternoon for, $N?")

  • Private Quality of Life Insurance or Profit Collective contracts can connect workers to share and redistribute salary amongst themselves, including paying bonuses for group-beneficial activities like resume assistance or spawning startups.

  • A UI for human-centered society? See research on an invented language designed to convey universal societal and ethical ideals to future generations. The Golden Rule rules!

  • A modern update to Pascal's Wager: a philosophical dialogue connecting skeptical scientific philosophy with ethics and the afterlife finding common ground betwe

  • Time Capsule including Civilization Restart Button: an approachable repository of information, how-to guides, etc. Maybe we send rockets to space programmed to return after N-thousand years. What goes in those rockets? All should be usable after The Disaster. You know ... just in case ...

  • Culteur: an organization that exists for the sake of its employees associates. Ideal company culture; what it makes or sells is secondary. Start with how we want to live, and see if we can make it from there!

  • Decentralized Risk Analysis for Future Tech: A hyperloop pneumatic tube around the world connecting all countries could revolutionize international transportation and bring food, water, and electricity wherever it is needed. What are the downsides? For this and other world-spanning new technology, let's drive towards decisions responsibly using known risk analysis methods, including open and systematic risk enumeration, mitigation, disposal, and open-eyed decision-making.

gift
experiment

universal creative gift economy

Consent-centric performances, art, food, lessons, meetups, hackathons ... appreciate and be appreciated!

  • All events are free. Any paid ticket is fully refunded if you show up (only pay if you no-show).

  • Hosts set themes and rules for their events, including confirming expectations around consent.

  • Prior hosts get more advanced schedule notice for time and place of future events! (Safe asynchronous probabilistic indirect reciprocity mitigates freeloading and makes friends.)

Philadelphia

Settle Your Dispute

You and your “friend” bring a question. The person in the corner with the hat will adjudicate. Then go in peace.Whatever you do, don't laugh at the hat.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Experience a tactile illusion

Something about your body will feel ... different ... unusual ... just a little ... maybe something you’ve never quite actually consciously experienced before .... Maybe your tongue. Maybe your arm. Maybe your nose. Maybe something else. Gentle platonic touch optional.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Speed friending (with benefits)

Meet who else shows up. Find new friends (and/or who knows what else), and move on.Naturally, enthusiastic affirmative consent is expected prior to any non-platonic interaction.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Gatsby/Gadsby

Andy Kaufman returns!? The performer will EITHER conduct a reading of The Great Gatsby OR cover a monologue by Hannah Gadsby. Performer's choice.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Octomassage

Five people per pod. Ten hands. Take turns receiving a (platonic) 8-handed massage! We each describe what we like following all principles of consent.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Gift Exchange

Got something you didn’t want for the holidays? Or just want to trade up? Bring it and we'll all trade following the host's rules. New/unused items only.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Cuddle Puddle

Platonic and consensual baseline, just snuggle up and talk if you want. Maybe instantly make some new friends.(Naturally, enthusiastic affirmative consent is expected prior to any non-platonic interaction.)Philadelphia, PA, USA

Advice

Ask your question. Get an answer. From a professional (currently-publishing) advice columnist.Philadelphia, PA, USA

LED Hat Parade

We will gather in a central location and create a simple dance pattern as we promenade wearing LED hats and other articles of clothing. Get your lights ready so we are all ready to meet up!Philadelphia, PA, USA

Hot Chocolate

Just gifting hot chocolate ... until we run out. Bring your own cup!Philadelphia, PA, USA

Experience Potluck: Open House

Everyone brings something for others to experience. Some potlucks are curated (applications approved in advance), others open. Details are up to each host.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Try Not to Laugh

We all meet in a central location, perhaps a bar, with straight faces. Whoever laughs gets a yellow card. Second time, you’re out! - but you can stay and keep trying to make others laugh. We continue until we find the winner.Winner of each round gets a free drink. Lighten up!Philadelphia, PA, USA

A Small Mouth Surprise

A vegan treat will be given to you in a way perhaps no vegan treat has ever been given to you before. Blindfold optional but recommended.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Hackathon: Mosquito Feeders

Let's iterate on hardware to feed mosquitoes artificial meals, reducing bites on people and interrupting the lifecycle of mosquito-vector diseases agents (and without crashing the mosquito population or encouraging the evolution of resistance to control)Philadelphia, PA, USA

Cook/Off

Three contestants will be provided with ingredients and a brief. Everyone else will be the judge. Share and enjoy!Philadelphia, PA, USA

Keep the Balloon in the Air: No Fourth Chances!

We will try to keep the balloon in the air for as long as possible. Please join us, we need people! Once a balloon drops, it’s done. Three balloons per event: Green, Yellow, and Red. After the red drops, NO MORE BALLOONS.Philadelphia, PA, USA

First Class

Get your questions answered about how to travel the world on points. By a professional - in person - at a local cafe. Thanks to Philadelphia-based Award Magic! awardmagic.comPhiladelphia, PA, USA

Give away $20

A street corner with a homeless person will be identified. We will each show up during the time window and give them $20. Because.Philadelphia, PA, USA

Personal Message

Hi there!

We are living in a science fiction world and we are all the authors.

I'm Marc.I grew up in an academic family - my Dad was (and still is) and experimental psychologist, my Mom was a teacher.I loved science fiction, experiments, philosophy, and playing with ideas to make the world better.Shelley, Atwood, Heinlein, Asimov, Roddenberry, Bellamy - they thought it through and showed us what to avoid and what we could aim for. But there is always the problem in utopian fiction - how do we get from here to there?I took the psychology I grew up with and ran with it - a B.A. from the University of Maryland; an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania; and postdoctoral fellowships at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.I got to think a lot about the human condition, about the psychology of hierarchies and the psychology of morality, about how academia and research works, about basic and applied research priorities. I had a lot of ideas - all sort of on the "side" of my default career path (and some of which you can now find at IdeaPlayground!)Then for a career, I fell into medical device human factors consulting at then-startup Core Human Factors, Inc.It was amazing! I got to see new gadgets, and test them out in human subjects experiments, giving feedback back to design and regulatory teams. I traveled the world running studies on multiple continents, and helped represent clients to FDA in meetings.I left 8 years later as Senior Director, kept consulting, and worked in-house for 3 years at Inogen, a manufacturer of portable oxygen concentrators.Now it's been 12 years of medical device human factors! And I'm ready for more.Idea Playground is a forum for human factors specialists, applied psychologists, and really anyone else who joins in the spirit to put forward ideas and also maybe attract consulting opportunities.The vision? We will seek to design and build the future of sustainable human civilization, like I saw Waldemar Karwowski say we should at a human factors meeting in 2013. See how far we get.We can iterate on ideas and get paid for side-quests along the way (by people or corporations who like the way we think; who want some work done on some product or system).Below you can find a picture of a ladder - the "selfish ladder." Each step can be selfish for each person taking the step - but still it leads upwards somewhere overall better for us all.Science fiction, experiments, ideas to make the world better - this is the life!Want some medical device human factors? I'm happy to do some work for free for nonprofits - and happy to charge for work with for-profit corporate entities.And I'm also especially happy if you see things the way I do and want to play along - add ideas, build something ...Come and join in!

The Selfish Ladder

basic
utopia

enough for everyone

All people should have at least the following, should they not; and would we not all be better, if we all did have these things?

  • Freedom from hunger

  • Clean water, shelter, and sanitation

  • Medical care available

  • Education available

  • Opportunity pathways to contribute in meaningful ways

  • Transportation and access to resources

  • Time not working to think, enjoy, and create, in safety and without fear

  • General concern to resolve whatever ad hoc situations cause people feelings of anguish or deep unfairness

  • Good wifi, good TV and entertainment, fewer logins to have to remember

This is essentially what we all want for everyone. Some basic rights; no one dying of hunger; no people or groups hopeless to participate in the modern world, or so lacking in essentials that they have nothing to lose and are ready to fight.We have more to learn; so more education is called for than used to be.We’ve always had some holidays, but surely automations must mean we can all have at least some more time like that.It's not a whiz-bang futuristic technodream, it's just the basics for how humanity should and can treat ourselves.Our common aim can be to bring the floor guaranteed quality of life for all humans to equal the current (2025) median quality of life. This is a popular goal: half the people would directly benefit, and many in the other half would either gain a relevant safety net or a better, safer world to live in. This is beyond left and right politics - it represents the center of the people.Maybe we can call it "liberaltarianism" Some basic safety net - a pretty good net, at that, for a safety net - after which we can all do what we want that does not hurt other people.After we reach this boring basic utopia, we can figure out from there where we might want to go next.The way to get from here to there might be through creatively determined "selfish ladders," meaning structures that unashamedly reward people who help us generally advance towards the common good.Selfish-ladder meta-capitalism profits everyone; still some more than others. Creative ladder-building means there is plenty of room to get quite rich by ensuring an excellent floor for all. We all do better; and the people who get us there do best of all.So if you have some creativity to spare - or if you want to make some money while still respecting yourself! - why not help construct selfish ladders towards the world described above.

What would you change or add to our shared vision of a basic utopia?

new
locations!

Gift Experiment started in Philadelphia in 2024.Where are you, and what sort of event would you like to attend - or offer?Would you like to spearhead Gift Experiment starting up in a new city? Funding/funding mechanisms are available.

joycotter

Declarations of support backing the world we want

We're not boycotting ...
we're joycotting!

Join a decentralized #joycott campaign or start your ownJust post on your social media
(and live up to whatever you offer):

  • I will prefer coffee shops that let homeless people use the bathroom

  • I will pay 15% more for products that come from new forests planted to counter deforestation

  • I will newly go out of my way to [buy products from Country X or visit as an overpaying tourist or etc.] after and only after Country X adopts [the policy I name here that I want to see)

In the (sadly, common) case of people who are generally more interested in peaceful compromise than their leaders, this joycott gives internal peaceful politics leverage to truly say: "After we the peaceful majority are represented in government, look at the opportunities that have been offered to us."Unlike boycotts, joycotts do not punish people for the actions of their government, and do not hurt relationships. We can continue building bridges and connections and work with the people - and when the new policies are in place, we can go out of our way to support the people even more!

wellness
research

Do general wellness products actualy work - in real life?

  • Improve mental acuity?

  • Enhance learning capacity?

  • Live longer?

  • Reduce stress?

  • Improve sleep?

Three years working at Inogen, a manufacturer of oxygen concentrators, led me to question whether we are all getting enough oxygen. After all, people evolved in an environment with slightly higher ambient atmospheric oxygen, and our lung capacity diminishes with age. And, various studies suggest exercise and cognitive benefits to supplemental oxygen.Maybe our entire physiology would be better off overall with more oxygen available as a resource for activity, cognition, and cell repair.Paleobreathing?!Extra oxygen is generally reported to improve mental acuity in laboratory experiments.People with naturally higher SpO2 (blood oxygen) are reported to live longerThis sort of vague general overall benefit from a product (live longer; think better) is called "wellness," and FDA does not seem to require clear scientific backing for wellness claims for low-risk devices. So oxygen concentrators are sold over-the-counter hawking wellness benefits which might be real, but there is no research backing it up.Until now, maybe!And while we're assessing oxygen concentrators, we can also assess efficacy of other wellness devices, like Red Light Therapy.Click through below (so Idea Playground gets a commission) and buy any wellness product, and enroll in the study so that over time you can report back on your product's effects.This deliberately not-tightly-controlled study can still find real effects, because products will act as each others' controls: some wellness products are probably more bogus than others. So a signal of a real effect might become apparent.IdeaPlayground is not selling these devices - the sale is between you and whoever you buy it from; if you want to return it, return it to them not to IdeaPlayground.IdeaPlayground is capturing a commission to use to support future data collection and analysis for the study.

Click to Buy an Oxygen ConcentratororClick here to buy any health device through Amazon

Register below to find out how to enroll in the study

undermine a slumlord

Help buy houses from landlords threatening to evict tenants at risk of homelessness, support tenants while taking (slightly) less profit.Want in? Get in touch!

votester

Votester poll aggregator: Political candidates promise to base in-office actions on polling data (pre-specified votes of conscience excepted). Making representative democracies more like direct democracies.See the potential and want to get in on it? Get in touch now!

relatable
Gamified Brainstorming

The relatable game shares back to players future equity from real-world implementations of profitable solutions to problems worth solving. Brainstorm worthy problems and solutions to get points and share profit (should solutions be implemented and actually work!)Sign up now to find out how to enter the next round of play.

Profit Collectives

A Profit Collective is a private, contractual venture connecting full-time workers to share and redistribute salary amongst themselves, including paying bonuses for group-beneficial activities like resume assistance or spawning startups.Collectives are quite decentralized, bound by their own agreement with no other superstructure needed.Want to find out more or find a group to join? Be in touch!

Request a Bid

Marc Egeth (IdeaPlayground founder) has 10+ years experience conducting medical device human factors studies and 20+ years experience conducting human subjects experiments.Contact Marc for high-quality, high-value regulatory compliant consulting and research.Formative studies
Validation studies
Ease of use studies - comparative and absolute.
Other human subjects research, consulting and logistics
Brainstorming and ideationLinkedIn

  • Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

  • Senior Director, Core Human Factors, Inc.

  • Managing Scientist, Exponent, Inc.

  • Human Studies Manager (Senior), Inogen, Inc.

  • Current: Google (contract), Human Factors Engineer

Request consulting or research services from Marc using the form below.Pro-bono and lower rates available for nonprofits.

Additional IdeaPlayground contributors to appear here in the future!Interested? Get in touch!