Risk‑Based Test Method Development & Hardware Validation Platforms

DEXCOM

Tags: System Integration • Test Method Development • Imaging Tools • Automated Fluid Testing • Mechatronics

One‑line summary

Owned the development of risk‑based test methods and custom validation platforms—including imaging‑driven tools and automated glucose testing systems—to generate decision‑ready evidence for wearable hardware programs.

Context & scope

Early‑stage wearable programs face their greatest risk not from nominal performance, but from poorly understood behavior at interfaces, under motion, and across environments. My time at Dexcom has incorporated several projects which focused on building targeted test infrastructure that could surface those risks early—before they propagated into clinical or scale‑up failures.

The scope included test method definition, fixture and platform design, automation, imaging‑based analysis, and data interpretation, with tight coupling to program decisions and downstream validation strategy.

Outcomes (fast facts)

Enabled risk‑based validation decisions by translating system‑level failure modes into targeted, repeatable tests.
Delivered custom imaging and sensing tools to quantify on‑body behavior that could not be captured by conventional bench tests.
Accelerated failure investigations and design iteration by pairing mechanical investigations with functional measurements in an integrated system

What I owned

Test method strategy (risk‑based): Defined what needed to be tested, when, and at what level (bench, on‑body, system) to retire the highest technical risks.
Imaging‑driven tools: Led development and use of imaging‑based characterization tools (e.g., on‑body wireless camera systems) to quantify patch behavior, motion, and appearance under realistic use conditions.
Automated glucose testing systems: Designed and deployed automated test setups to characterize glucose performance and system behavior under controlled, repeatable conditions.
Test platform & fixture development: Designed electromechanical fixtures and platforms integrating actuation, sensing, and automation to isolate key variables such as fatigue testing of wire in glucose solution
Failure investigation & data interpretation: Led structured investigations and communicated results in terms of risk, coverage, and next actions, not just raw data.

Featured Complex Systems I Owned

I designed, built, and owned multiple end‑to‑end experimental and validation systems, spanning hardware, software, automation, and clinical deployment. Some of them are listed here:

Multi‑axis fatigue and functional test systems for sensor wire in glucose solution, combining mechanical loading with real‑time performance measurement.
Vertical compression and load‑path characterization platforms to evaluate wearable stability and signal integrity under representative on‑body forces.
Automated glucose testing systems using syringe‑pump–driven fluid control to generate repeatable, programmable glucose profiles without manual intervention.
Clinical imaging and analysis tools integrating machine‑vision cameras and IR illumination to reduce skin‑tone variability and enable objective, repeatable assessment.
Low‑cost, battery‑powered patient‑deployable imaging systems to capture in‑situ sensor condition during wear, increasing data density while reducing clinical visit burden.
Complete control software and user interfaces, developed and owned end‑to‑end in LabVIEW and Visual Studio (C#), covering automation, data acquisition, and operator workflows.

These systems progressed from early feasibility into DVT and clinical studies, forming the backbone of multiple program‑level decisions