Design Science Consulting Inc.

What Design Science Consulting Inc. does

Design Science Consulting Inc. (operating as Design Science Group, LLC) is a Philadelphia-headquartered human factors engineering and usability testing consultancy founded in 1991 and serving the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. The firm guides user-centered design of healthcare products across the full product lifecycle, from user needs identification and requirements definition through concept development (including labeling, packaging, and GUI), formative and summative usability testing, and use-related risk analysis supporting FDA 510(k) and international regulatory submissions. Its technical stack includes eye tracking systems, force and rotation sensors, and a 21 CFR Part 11-compliant electronic data capture platform, supported by six state-of-the-art usability labs across Philadelphia, Chicago (Evanston), and Munich, Germany, plus international lab partnerships.

The firm monetizes exclusively through professional services—project-based, consultative engagements with medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and combination product developers—rather than software or licensed product sales. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; the publicly visible pricing signal is $100+ per hour participant compensation for usability studies. Design Science maintains a 37,000+ participant recruitment database and has completed 200+ validation studies in the last five years, reflecting deep, repeatable engagement with life sciences clients. Distribution is sales-led, executed through direct client engagement, supplemented by content marketing (blog, newsletter), conference presence (HFES, Drug/Device Combination Products Summit, EPIC, HIMSS, MD&M West, PDA, ASPIRE), and patient-advocacy community partnerships.

In January 2026, Design Science was acquired by BlueRidge Life Sciences, a Houston-based life sciences consulting firm and portfolio company of Renovus Capital Partners. The firm continues to operate under its existing brand with CEO Katie Hansbro retained in leadership, integrated into BlueRidge's broader consulting platform. The legal entity is Design Science Group, LLC, domiciled in Pennsylvania, USA.

Name

Design Science Consulting Inc.

Legal name

Design Science Group, LLC

Website

https://dscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Design Science is a Philadelphia-based human factors engineering consultancy founded in 1991 that provides usability testing, use-related risk analysis, and regulatory submission support to medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies across the U.S. and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Factors Engineering / Medical Device Usability Testing

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Industrial Design Services (541420)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Quality Engineering & Risk Management (ICH Q9/Q10, validation, change control) (HLAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Human factors engineering
• Usability testing
• Medical device design
• Healthcare consulting
• FDA submission support

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Human Factors Engineering Consulting: Professional consulting services providing human factors research, usability testing, and use-related risk analysis for medical devices and healthcare products throughout the product lifecycle.
2. Usability Testing Services: Formative and summative usability testing services including recruiting, moderation, and regulatory submission support for FDA and international regulatory approvals.
3. Regulatory Submission Support: Support services for regulatory submissions including use-related risk analysis documentation and FDA submission preparation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Design Science provides human factors engineering and usability testing consulting services for medical devices, pharmaceutical products, and healthcare products. The firm conducts user needs research, requirements definition, concept development, analytical methods, usability testing, and use-related risk analysis to support FDA and international regulatory submissions. Services are delivered through six state-of-the-art usability labs in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Munich, leveraging eye tracking, electronic data capture, and a 37,000+ participant recruitment database.

Product overview

Design Science offers a unified suite of human factors engineering consulting services rather than a software product. The core offering encompasses the full product development lifecycle: User Needs Identification, Requirements Definition, Concept Development, Analytical Methods, Usability Testing, and Use-Related Risk Analysis (URRA). These services are delivered through six state-of-the-art usability labs in Philadelphia and Chicago, with additional global partnerships. The company specializes in helping life sciences companies design, test, and validate medical products for patient and clinician use, supporting regulatory submissions to the FDA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ validation studies completed in the last 5 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ByonyksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical device company for which Design Science provided human factors engineering support for FDA 510(k) clearance of the Byonyks X-1 Automated Peritoneal Dialysis Cycler.
• Think CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered for the Design + Health Crawl event in Philadelphia, sharing approaches to healthcare design challenges alongside Digitas and Thomas Jefferson University's MS Health Communication Design Program.
• Thomas Jefferson University MS Health Communication Design ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for the Design + Health Crawl event, collaborating on healthcare design education and industry engagement.
• DigitasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered for the Design + Health Crawl event in Philadelphia, sharing approaches to healthcare design challenges.
• International Lab PartnersminorOthersPartnerships worldwide to accommodate clients and user populations internationally, supporting global usability testing capabilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Insight Product Development: Insight Product Development is a medical and industrial product development firm offering design research and human factors services for regulated devices — a partial-overlap emerging competitor combining engineering depth with HF practice.
• Farm Design: Farm Design is a product development and design consultancy with human factors and usability capabilities for medical devices and consumer health products — adjacent offering that increasingly overlaps with Design Science's concept development work.

Broad incumbents

• UL Solutions: UL Solutions operates a global testing, inspection and certification practice that includes human factors engineering for medical and healthcare products, offering much broader scope than Design Science's specialist HF focus.
• NAMSA: NAMSA is a medical-device-focused CRO offering testing, regulatory and consulting services that include human factors and usability support — bundling HF into a broader outsourced development stack that competes with specialist firms.
• Battelle: Battelle runs a large applied R&D organization with a dedicated human factors practice serving medical device, defense and industrial clients — competing for HF validation work but as one capability among many.
• Experis: Experis (ManpowerGroup) provides IT and engineering staffing with a human factors practice serving medical device and life sciences clients — competing on contract HF talent and project services from a much broader staffing platform.

Direct peers

• Core Human Factors: Core Human Factors is a human factors engineering consultancy focused on medical device and combination product usability testing and FDA submission support — closely mirroring Design Science's core offering and client base.
• THAY Medical: THAY Medical provides human factors and usability engineering services for medical devices and combination products, including formative/summative testing and regulatory submission support — directly comparable specialty consulting to Design Science.
• UserWise: UserWise is a human factors consultancy specializing in medical device and pharmaceutical usability engineering, offering user research, usability testing, and use-related risk analysis — directly comparable to Design Science's service stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/2086033944920588
• Xx.com/designscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-science-consulting-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Design Science Consulting Inc.