Stephanie Van Ness

Stephanie  Van Ness

Stephanie is Assoc. Director of Marketing and Chief Storyteller at Integrated Computer Solutions, Inc. (ICS) and Boston UX. She writes about user experience design and innovations in technology, such as gesture-controlled medical devices, extended reality-powered surgical training simulators, and autonomous vehicles. Her work has appeared widely in medtech and UX design publications, including Medical Design & Outsourcing, Mass Device, Today’s Medical Developments, Medical Design Briefs, Medical Device + Diagnostics, Connected World, Design News and UX Collective. She holds a B.S. in journalism from Boston University, and did her graduate study at Syracuse University.

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SaMD vs. SiMD: Do You Know the Difference?

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 - 09:41 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  SaMD, medical device

Though the terms SaMD and SiMD are often used interchangeably, understanding their nuances is crucial for navigating compliance.

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Best UX Writing Practices for Digital Health Chatbot Dialogue

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 - 09:24 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX, Health, Medical

Chatbots elevate the patient experience by delivering heightened personalization, real-time information, improved accessibility, and valuable support.

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Racing Toward CES with an Exciting New UI for Automotive Grade Linux IVI Demo

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - 11:45 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  automotive IVI

To showcase Automotive Grade Linux at CES, ICS created an intuitive UI with reference applications and instrument cluster based on embedded Flutter code from Toyota.

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UX for Small Embedded IOT and Medical Device Screens

Monday, October 30, 2023 - 12:55 ">  •  By Dorothy Shamonsky, Ph.D., Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX Design, designing for embedded, medical device

Small embedded screens are significantly different to design for than smartphones.

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Navigating New Medical Device Cybersecurity Rules

Friday, September 29, 2023 - 09:53 ">  •  By Milton Yarberry, Stephanie Van Ness  •  cybersecurity, medical device

With cyber threats aimed at healthcare on the rise, the FDA has tightened requirements for device makers. We help you make sense of the new rules.

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5 Things to Understand Before Building a Linux-Based Embedded Device

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 - 11:57 ">  •  By Lisandro Pérez Meyer, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Linux, embedded systems

Master these elements to successfully move from working prototype to Minimum Viable Product.

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Is Linux OS the Right Platform for Your Medical Device?

Monday, March 6, 2023 - 13:46 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness, Lisandro Pérez Meyer  •  Linux, medical device

If you’re thinking about making the move to Linux for your medtech, here’s a look at some pros and cons.

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Does ChatGPT Have a Role in Medical Device Software Development?

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 - 11:29 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  medical device

The next five years will be a race among manufacturers to add intelligence to everything.

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Which Software Testing Method is Right for Your Project?

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 - 08:05 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness, Jay Noble  •  Testing, Software Development

The key to effective software testing is striking the right balance between automation and manual testing methods.

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Is Outsourcing Software Testing Right for Your Organization?

Thursday, December 1, 2022 - 13:33 ">  •  By Jay Noble, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Testing, Software Development

Outsourcing QA can be a smart decision in terms of accelerated time to market, enhanced flexibility and greater objectivity.

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Don’t Let Poor Communication Derail Software Testing

Thursday, October 20, 2022 - 08:32 ">  •  By Jay Noble, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Testing, Software Development

For higher-quality code and better products, close any gaps between stakeholders.

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Creating Digital Twin Training Solutions in VR for Medical Devices

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 - 09:08 ">  •  By Jeff LeBlanc, Stephanie Van Ness  •  medical device, VR

Industries from medical to automotive rely on virtual versions of complex systems for simulation and training.  

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Prioritizing Discovery Research is Essential to Project Success

Monday, July 25, 2022 - 12:46 ">  •  By Nicole Rosenberg, Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX, product design

Up-front research provides critical insight that can serve as the solid foundation on which to build your design strategy.

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Choosing the Right IoT Fleet Management System: A Look at Torizon, Balena and Mender

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 - 09:45 ">  •  By Sergei Zheleznov, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Fleet Management, IoT

The right solution can safeguard the management viability of your connected-device fleet.

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Provisioning Strategies for IoT Device Fleet Management  

Monday, May 23, 2022 - 10:14 ">  •  By Sergei Zheleznov, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Fleet Management, AWS, IoT

Your OTA platform and the cloud must coexist in a single ecosystem to manage the full cycle of IoT device fleets.

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Protect Against Cyber Attacks by Securing Your IoT Devices

Monday, May 23, 2022 - 10:01 ">  •  By Sergei Zheleznov, Stephanie Van Ness  •  IoT, Fleet Management, cybersecurity

IoT devices can act as a “back door” to the network that hosts them, enabling a multitude of attacks.

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The Right IoT Device Fleet Management System Can Help You Reach Business Goals

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 - 14:16 ">  •  By Sergei Zheleznov, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Fleet Management, IoT

Well-managed IoT devices can help organizations streamline operations, optimize processes and better engage customers.

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What You Need to Know About Over-the-Air Updates

Wednesday, May 4, 2022 - 10:01 ">  •  By Sergei Zheleznov, Stephanie Van Ness  •  Fleet Management, IoT

Distributed IoT device requirements are crucial for the dispersed systems that support remote connectivity, data transfer, and firmware or software version update. 

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VR-based Training Provides New Learning Opportunities for Surgeons

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 - 13:19 ">  •  By Jeff LeBlanc, Stephanie Van Ness  •  VR, Medical

As VR technology evolves and costs decline, VR is expected to see wider adoption in the medical realm.

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Take Measures to Help Avoid a Ransomware Nightmare

Friday, September 17, 2021 - 09:09 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness, ICS Development Team  •  cybersecurity, connected device

The cybersecurity industry is stretched thin as the pace of attacks is relentless. Take steps now to safeguard your devices.

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Microcontrollers are Reshaping Development 

Monday, March 1, 2021 - 13:50 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  IoT

Microcontrollers are everywhere, powering the IoT revolution. This blog is the first in a series on the tiny tech.

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Nearing the Finish Line with Project RED’s Low-Cost Ventilator

Monday, December 14, 2020 - 08:42 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  medical device, UX Design

With this important project nearly complete, we're making final updates to decrease the possibility of use error to improve patient safety.

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It’s Time to Fix Scientific Software

Friday, October 9, 2020 - 10:12 ">  •  By Philip Chila, Stephanie Van Ness  •  medical device, UX Design

Wider embrace of UX can make it easier for those working in life sciences to more quickly bring new therapies to market.

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Mobile Apps Help Consumers Avoid COVID-19-Contaminated Public Touchscreens 

Friday, July 31, 2020 - 10:27 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness, Mark Hatch  •  touchscreen, User Experience

As consumers avoid touching public devices, here’s how to provide contact-less access to your products.

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Lose the Ewww: How to Clean Customer-Facing Touchscreens to Reduce COVID-19 Risk

Monday, April 13, 2020 - 10:15 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  touchscreen

Are touchscreen kiosks and POS touchpads safe to use during a pandemic?

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How GreenHouse by ICS Benefits User Experience Designers

Friday, March 20, 2020 - 08:50 ">  •  By Mark Hatch, Stephanie Van Ness  •  GreenHouse, UX design team

Solutions to the most common UX-related problems on any embedded project.

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Figma is Great for Designers and Even Better for Their Clients

Friday, September 6, 2019 - 10:55 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  UX Design

Real-time collaborative design tool Figma transforms workflow for creative teams.

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Why Do Software Projects Fail?

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 13:12 ">  •  By Stephanie Van Ness  •  Software Development, UX Design

A follow-up to our webinar on lessons learned from 500+ successful development projects.

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