Dr. Michaela Kauer-Franz studied psychology and earned her doctorate in mechanical engineering at Darmstadt Technical University with a thesis on “Acceptance of Technical Products.” Following her doctorate, Dr. Kauer-Franz took over as head of the “Product Design” research group at the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors at TU Darmstadt. In 2013, she founded the UX design agency Custom Interactions GmbH, which supports clients in the development of technical products in the areas of usability and user experience design and testing. Since its founding, Custom Interactions has implemented more than 400 successful projects and has been awarded or nominated for several design prizes (e.g., Red Dot Design Award Winner Interface Design, German Design Award, UX Design Award). Since 2017, she has been head of the Custom Medical business unit, which specializes in usability engineering and testing for medical devices and in vitro diagnostics. Ms. Kauer-Franz is a TÜV Rheinland-certified medical devices usability expert and risk manager. In 2023, she and her husband Benjamin Franz founded the US company Custom Medical US Inc., which supports customers in the field of human factors for the US market.