Abstract:

Taking into consideration the fact that the global aging population is increasing every year and that the number of people with disabilities constantly on the rise, it becomes vital to allow and sustain the development process for new medical devices that will satisfy the specific needs of these categories of people. Considering these facts, every country is in a continuous process of developing and updating proper regulations and laws in order to provide necessary information and facility for companies that embrace the manufacturing of assistive devices. To align to international standards, manufacturers strive develop assistive devices that meet customers’ requirements. Any development process which targets a new product, starts with customer needs, specifically customer requirements. Thus, the current study is aimed at the identification of the specific Romanian target market for the development process of a new spinal orthosis. In this regard, within the study, it was identified which categories of people with disabilities are targeted to be taken into consideration when new product development process will be deployed. Also, it was identified the exact county that will be targeted and the number of people that would potentially benefit by using a redesigned assistive device like a spinal orthosis.