Innovative Product Development and Technology Adoption for Medical Applications - Biomaterials Science: An Integrated Clinical and Engineering Approach - page 281

or MRIs. All of these factors would also be beneficial. If we made the charts
more accurate it would also affect liability issues. By automating the doc-
tor's review we could also provide automated communications of new doc-
tor's orders and track the drug inventory as it was given instead of requiring
extensive inventories after each shift.
Getting to the Prototype Stage of development
In a number of technology transitions I've seen the most difficult part of the
path to be getting from the idea stage to the prototype stage. We have also
seen this from the medical laboratories at the universities and at the small
businesses. Many groups get the initial research done, file for a patent, and
file it in a locked drawer. Patents don't necessarily ensure that the devel-
oper will make any money whatsoever on the technology idea. Getting
to the prototype for the application that will generate a product must be
visualized. That's one reason that mind-mapping techniques work well for
developers of advanced technology. Sometimes in this developmental cycle
we get the chicken and egg syndrome. The developers don't have the funds
to get the prototype built and the customer won't fund the development
until they evaluate the prototype unit in operation. So how do we get to the
next phase?
It's unbelievable how much technology we have in the research labora-
tory that never sees the light of day. I think the major hindrance to much
of this develop is our legal system. We concentrate so much on the pro-
tection of intellectual property that we lose sight of the value-developing
potential of collaboration. I've seen a number of innovation projects that
were proposed in the PowerPoint stage. In the military we have another
term for those projects: they are called “vapor ware.” The success rate for
developing a prototype and getting the customer on your team greatly
improves when a rough prototype is connected with a visionary presen-
tation of “you see this 50% solution, now think about if I could get fund-
ing to do the next 30%?” You might also note that 50% and 30% doesn't
add up to 100%. It only adds up to 80%. Researchers frequently gold plate
their proposals, especially to government sources, and ask for unrealistic
amounts. The customer isn't ready to fund you to the third generation
until you have demonstrated value at every step along the developmental
path.
In the Pocketscope development we actually sold the prototypes. Several
interesting facts emerged from that process. The first was that it was easier
to get a prospective customer to test our units if they were not free. It prob-
ably gets back to the old adage of having some skin in the game. So the key
is to get the customer on your developmental team as early in the process as
possible. My recommendation would be as soon as any level of prototype
is reasonably available. This generates buy-in by the customer of the final
product early in the process.