Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
existence spreads and increasing numbers of the
product are sold.
Maturity-where the consumers interested in the
product have already bought it and sales no longer
increase.
Decline-where the demand for the product decreases.
The duration of the life cycle can vary from a few months
to many decades. The life cycle curve is a useful in-
strument by which the future market potential for
a product can be analyzed. If the sales of a particular
product are studied, one usually can tell which of the
phases the demand will be in, at a given moment. Usually,
the introduction and development phases are more
interesting than the saturation and decline phases. The
future total consumption can be calculated also by means
of the life cycle curve. Using today's data, the future
market potential can be forecast.
Assessments
market
technology
economy
Discontinue
the
project
proceed?
No
Yes
Preliminary
development strategy
New
company
Licensing
Patenting and publishing
Development
for
licensing
Development
of
new company
Good patent protection is essential for anyone who
wishes to exploit an invention industrially, to invest in it,
and to manufacture it. The patent is a guarantee that no
one else, without risking some form of legal action, can
exploit the original idea for commercial profit. In order to
secure a patent for an invention, it must be ''new''. If one
places the idea before the public by means of a publica-
tion or a lecture, then patenting possibilities are voided,
thus creating a high hurdle to jump in the path to product
innovation.
At university hospitals and other research-oriented
hospitals, there are often visible differences in outlook
between the academic researchers who will publish, or
give lectures on, their new results, and the innovators
who will patent new ideas as a base for industrial
development. Often, both groups can be satisfied by
patenting first, and then publishing somewhat later. By
this procedure, the publishing is marginally delayed
while at the same time the great commercial value of
such a patent can be utilized.
marketing
production
Patent
Figure 5.3-2 Product development flow diagram.
Figure 5.3-2
is a flow diagram showing the steps in
product development, starting with assessment and
moving toward patenting and marketing and production.
Market analysis
Early market assessments will answer two important
questions (Committee of Science and Technology, 1980):
1.
Is there a need (i.e., a ''market'') for the product that
is under study?
2.
Is the market large enough that an investment in
a development project would be profitable?
Whether developing simple or complicated technology,
one should aim to gather a good overview of the market.
An early and preliminary view of a potential market helps
the innovator to plan for the long-range development of
the invention.
Strategic assessments for effective
product development
A preliminary assessment of a new product idea must
always include the following considerations:
Market analysis
Technology assessment
Analyses
The results from these preliminary assessments are im-
portant cornerstones in the management of product de-
velopment projects leading to a commercial success.
Technology assessment
Technology assessment includes analysis of problems
relating to product technology as well as production
technology. Product technology assessment is particu-
larly important for medical products in the clinical en-
vironment. Of course, safety considerations are greatly
