Preston product design studio npd helps bring affordable eye care to the world's underserved communities

A Preston-based product design and development company has played a pivotal role in transforming an advanced ophthalmic prototype into a mass-producible medical device; one that could bring professional-grade eye care to millions of people who have never had access to it.

npd Studio, the award-winning product design agency headquartered in Preston, has been working with Ocuwell (a medical technology company developing affordable ophthalmic diagnostic devices) to take their prototype through the critical journey from concept to production-ready hardware.

The device, a portable corneal topography tool, is designed to replicate the diagnostic capability of large, expensive clinical equipment in something small enough to fit in a pocket.

In much of the world, access to the kind of eye care that prevents avoidable blindness simply doesn't exist - either because the equipment costs too much, or because it can't travel to where patients are. Ocuwell is built to change that.

npd Studio was brought in to solve a specific and complex challenge: the prototype worked, but it wasn't ready for manufacture.

The team conducted a thorough review of the mechanical design and electronics, identifying heat issues on the PCB, components at risk of obsolescence, and a hygiene problem that would have made the device unsuitable for multi-patient clinical use.

The part of the device that contacts a patient's body wasn't removable, a significant issue for a tool intended for use in clinical practice around the world.

The studio redesigned it as a disposable, replaceable component, reworked the electronics across three iterations to resolve the heat problem, and refined every physical interaction point, from how the two parts of the handle meet to the magnet specification that allows the device to be attached and detached cleanly, with no risk of incorrect assembly.

Nathan Partington, founder of npd Studio, said: "We're very lucky to get to pick and choose the projects we work on, and a big part of why we come into work each day is to work on products that make a positive difference.

"This falls straight into that category. It's going to be released around the world and help people see, something most of us take completely for granted. That's exactly the type of product we want to be involved with."

The device is now in pre-production sampling, with user trials underway ahead of mass manufacture.

For npd Studio,  which has grown from two people to a team of over six and was recently named Creative Studio of the Year at the Prolific North Awards, the project is emblematic of the kind of work the studio was built to do.

The company operates on a deliberately selective model, choosing only to work on products it believes genuinely deserve to exist. Across regulated sectors including medical devices, defence, energy storage and sustainability, npd embeds itself across the full product lifecycle - from early design through to manufacturing and commercialisation.

The Ocuwell  device represents, in many ways, the clearest expression of that philosophy: a product where the design decisions made in a studio in Preston have the potential to change what it means to receive healthcare on the other side of the world.

npd Studio is a product design and development company based in Preston, with a presence in Manchester and London. Founded on the principle of only working on products that deserve to exist, the studio operates across the full product lifecycle - from initial concept through to manufacture and commercialisation across regulated sectors including defence, medical devices, energy storage and sustainability. npd holds ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and JOSCAR certifications and was named Creative Studio of the Year at the 2025 Prolific North Awards. For more information visit www.npd.studio

Press contact: Kat Baty Marketing Director, npd Studio [email protected]