Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
early and advanced applications in the health care field.
Therefore, it is of interest to discuss personal qualities
and knowledge that are prerequisites for the CE who
wants to engage in, and to be dedicated to, innovation
activities and product development.
One reward is to see the ideas realized, a satisfaction that
is similar to that of an artist over a finished painting or
sculpture. Creativity is also a necessity, even a compul-
sion. The inventor is often obsessed by thoughts sur-
rounding a problem. It can seem impossible not to come
back to the problem repeatedly.
Creative persons might have many unique qualities,
which are easily identified such as the following:
Flexibility
Sensitivity to problems
Originality
Motivation to create
Endurance
Concentration on the task
A visionary mind is crucial, e.g., a talent to foresee sce-
narios in the future. But a visionary mind is not enough.
The abilities to get things done to control project de-
velopment are important. The innovator must constantly
draw knowledge from the wells of marketing, economics,
visualization, and patent law, all of which are important in
the process of developing an idea into a marketable
product.
From inventor to innovator
An innovation is defined as an invention that has been
successfully marketed and has reached a stage of com-
mercial success. Usually, a distinction is made between
an inventor and an innovator. The role of an innovator is
much more demanding than that of an inventor. An in-
ventor is strongly focused on the technology and the
technical development of the invention: the product.
The inventor seldom finds invention commercialization
exciting and avoids creating the contacts necessary for
further business development of the product.
An inventor must learn to become a successful in-
novator and entrepreneur. Knowledge in the following
fields is particularly important to gain:
Marketing, to perform market assessments and to
understand the essentials of marketing new products
Economy, to do project budget plans
Law, to the protection that a patent gives
The life cycle of a product
Every product has a life cycle. It is born, matures, reaches
a maximal sales figure, and finally disappears from the
market. The life cycle curve of a product is a well-known
concept within marketing, product development, and
market research (
Figure 5.3-1
). It shows the sold quan-
tity of a product as a function of time from its in-
troduction on the market to the time when the product
no longer is marketed, and it is usually divided into
phases (Ohlsson, 1992):
Introduction-when the product is first introduced
on a market and the first sales occur.
Sales growth-when the product has been on the
market for some time and the awareness of its
The innovator as a person
Concepts like innovations, innovators, inventors, product
ideas, and creativity are commonly used when the im-
portance of product development is discussed. Some of
these concepts are considered to be synonymous, but
sometimes one needs a short and practically oriented
discussion to define these concepts.
''Creativity,'' for example, has hundreds of definitions
in the literature. In most cases, they can be summarized
as ''the ability to generate something new and/or useful.''
For others, the word ''useful'' can be exchanged for
''interesting,'' ''attracting'' or even ''selling.'' In the case of
technical innovations, the ''degree of utility'' is defined as
something that can be sold on the market or can be
exploited financially. Within the Organization for Eco-
nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the
concept of innovation has been taken to mean a technical
idea that has been realized in the form of a product,
which has been successful on the market. Creativity is
the willingness and ability to produce something new
that is closely related to curiousness, an inherent human
attribute. In addition, the inclination and the necessity to
invent and to explore are deeply satisfying and rewarding
activities for the inventor. Also satisfying are creating and
developing new ideas and seeing solutions to problems.
Quantity
Maturity
Growth
Decline
Introduction
Time
Figure 5.3-1 Product life cycle curve from introduction to
obsolescence.
