Biodesign Innovation Process Revealed
December 20, 2009 – 11:39 pm
A biodesign innovation process developed by a team of faculty and staff at Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA, USA) in collaboration with hundreds of representatives from the medtech sector is meticulously described in the book Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies. The concept is designed to help medical technology innovators increase their chance of success in identifying important clinical needs, inventing new medical devices and instruments and implementing these advances in patient care. A website has been created to serve as a companion to the text, providing readers with relevant links to support the Getting Started sections at the end of each chapter, content updates, short videos of experts in the field, and more.
Published in September 2009 by Cambridge University Press in New York, Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies divides the innovation process into three distinct phases: identify, invent and implement. These phases are further subdivided into a six stages and 29 core activities (a chapter of the book is devoted to each one). The volume includes more than 40 case studies.
The book has received high praise from a number of medtech titans. For example, John Abele, Founder Chairman, Boston Scientific, says it sums up “everything you ever wanted to know about medical device entrepreneurship and more. [Senior editors Stefanos Zenios, Josh Makower and Paul Yock] have led an A class team of experienced device company builders to produce a reference document to guide an aspiring device entrepreneur through all the challenges of getting an idea to market. These are tough times. Whether you’re a physician with an idea, an engineer or a businessman, this is a unique and powerful resource,” writes Abele.
In the video posted here, Zenios discusses the concept behind the book.
On a related note, we posted an article earlier this year on a comprehensive model representing the medical device development process also published by Stanford researchers. The model is designed to help companies execute the bench-to-bedside process of product development more effectively.
Norbert Sparrow
Tags: Biodesign, Stanford, Zenios
