Innovative Product Development and Technology Adoption for Medical Applications - Biomaterials Science: An Integrated Clinical and Engineering Approach - page 288

This replacement disc is composed of three parts:

• Two metal (cobalt-chrome alloy) endplates that are anchored to the
top and bottom surfaces of the spinal bones (vertebrae)
• A plastic (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, or UHMWPE)
inlay that fits between the two endplates (FDA 2010)

From this information, how do we analyze the insertion of materials in
these new medical devices in relation to the adoption of innovation factors
described in the previous sections?
These are the common factors from the theoretical work. If we can make
several of these very positive or if we can eliminate any gross negative factors,
we can more easily move these technologies to the medical field. It was very
important to use materials that were acceptable to the body. When we look at
some other medical issues we see that extensive testing is a key acceptance
criterion. Whether it is a procedure or a device a major factor in acceptance
is “do no harm in the long run.” The Lasik eye procedure has become very
accepted in the correction of vision. This procedure involves the reshaping
of the cornea with a laser device. The success of this procedure and its accep-
tance in the marketplace required the patients to report success, and not just
advertising by the doctors doing the procedure. Obviously there are extreme
technology issues here in the laser power and accuracy, and in the precise con-
trol of the mechanical and computer devices. Similarly in the adoption of arti-
ficial knees, there was a huge factor in the demonstrating of results. Prosthetic
limbs have been around for years, and many were and are still in use long
after the limbs were amputated. The artificial knee restores natural function-
ality, so it yields a relative advantage. There is virtually no maintenance, and

Image

Compatibility

Ease of
Use

Relative
advantage

Results
Demonstrability

Subjective
Norm
peers

Artificial
knees

Subjective
Norm
customers

Trialability

Subjective
Norm
community

Perceived
Voluntariness

FIGuRE 11.4
Mind map of artificial needs adoption criteria.