How did you get the idea to develop the Comfort+ breast form?
It was the women themselves who gave us the idea.Some women asked for a Contact breast form with a stronger adhesion to give them a feeling of extra security. Increased humidity caused by perspiration between the breast form and the skin is the main cause for a weakening of adhesion. In order to reduce generated heat behind the breast form and, therefore, perspiration we came up with the idea of incorporating a temperature equalizing material inside the breast form itselfThe first trials of this concept were so successful we decided to include this extra benefit also into the Natura breast forms.
What was the involvement of breast operated women in your developments?
We asked for the support of women who had had a mastectomy right from the beginning of the project. These women agreed to wear the first hand made prototypes, and, were so enthusiastic about the additional benefits of comfort+ that it gave us the bravery to carry on.The next step was the organisation of end user trials in France and Sweden. These women were given a breast form and questionnaire. Their experiences, opinions and critical comments were a vitally important part of the development process.Without the help and support of these women Comfort+ would not exist.We are only able to create successful products by being closely in touch with women following mastectomy and listening to their special needs and desires.
What part of this development did you find the most difficult?
The material we needed did not in fact exist, so, we had to formulate what we required in our own laboratories and get it passed all the all required tests for medical devices. In addition to these stringent tests all the new materials had to be soft enough, durable enough and attractive enough to ensure the product met the high quality standards required by Amoena.
What was required to bring this new development to the market?
First and most importantly we need a good team.The women we work with give us the ideas, and then our engineers translate these ideas into prototypes for wearing tests. Once the wearing tests are complete and the product perfected, we may find a new technology is required in order to manufacture it. Good team work in all departments is the key, marketing, design, and engineering coming together to produce breast forms which are soft to the touch, natural in appearance and give a perfect fit. With such a team Amoena can give all breast operated women a feeling confidence, comfort and security.