​When Stewart and her team set off to redesign the speculum, they knew what they were up against. Plus, Stewart says, “I hadn’t even seen a speculum.”
So before they started researching or sketching ideas out, Stewart and Kumar listed the things that had bothered them in gynecological exams. There was the noise (like a can opener), the temperature (freezing cold), the feeling inside (as if someone was stretching your insides like a rubber band). When they acquired a set of specula, one plastic and one metal, they realized they needed to change the aesthetics too. These things looked like medieval torture devices.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-speculum-finally-gets-a-modern-redesign/
