We are very excited to announce that Cobalt was named as the national winner of the Product (Use) category at the Design Institute of Australia’s 2022 Designers Australia Awards for our team’s work on the magAssist VAD Heart Pump.
The announcement was made simultaneously at five locations across Australia in a unique awards presentation event. Unlike most design award programmes, the Designers Australia Awards (or DAAs) recognise the professionalism and process of the design team alongside the final project outcome across three categories; Use (industrial design), Place (interior design and architecture) and Interact (communication and experience design). The jurors noted that “the magAssist VAD Heart Pump is a brilliant product that results from a tight collaboration between engineering, design and medical science”.
The night was a much-anticipated opportunity to catch up with well-known peers, as well as meet the latest crop of emerging young designers.
The magAssist VAD Heart Pump is a medical device that mimics the function of a patient’s heart for individuals experiencing acute cardiac problems to support them before, during and after heart surgery. Suzhou-based start-up magAssist began the development of this Class III medical device to exceed the performance and usability levels of the market’s leading competitors. The magAssist VAD Heart Pump was created to be the first external heart pump device to be developed within and for China, making this technology more accessible in a country with one of the highest incidences of treatable cardiovascular disease in the world.
We’re incredibly proud of both our and magAssist’s teams for their collaborative approach to developing this life-saving device within an ambitious timeline and exacting standards. magAssist has fully embraced how design excellence and rigour can bring their in-house medical technology to life.
It is a privilege to be recognised by our peers at the Design Institute of Australia with this award and we congratulate all of the other Designers Australia Award finalists and winners.
