the practice of medicine come from small companies or individual inventors .”
The Valley of Death , as the startup community calls it , represents the arduous trek from idea conception to revenue . There are many obstacles to traverse during the idea life cycle that compound as the company matures and burns revenue . Failure can manifest itself in many ways : bad timing , an inexperienced team , poor execution or insufficient funding . Even fear of failure can be a powerful barricade and a potent inhibitor to novice entrepreneurs . Dov Froman , founder of Intel Israel , believes that to create a true culture of innovation , the fear of loss often proves more powerful than the hope of gain , and we must change that equation .
How can our communities , universities and hospitals help more individuals improve the state ’ s medical technology startup culture ? According to medical technology entrepreneur and West Virginia native Dr . Mark Bates , there are bright people here , and we can make a difference only by coming together .
The problem with innovation improvement efforts is rooted in the lack of an innovation strategy . As Gary Pisano wrote in his Harvard Business Review piece , “ You Need an Innovation Strategy ,” effective strategies promote alignment among diverse groups within an organization , clarify objectives and priorities and help focus efforts around them . To harvest the wealth of talent within the Mountain State , we should focus on a strategy for
Ashok Aggarwal ; Justin Chambers , Ph . D .; Tom McClellan , M . D .; and Drew Lytton working on the RetrieV device to improve arthroscopic knee surgery . Photo by Mon Health System .
birthing new medical technology companies from innovative ideas — companies that can employ engineers , manufacture products and alter the landscape of what is possible within our borders .
We can start by creating concrete improvements to the infrastructure and talent development needed to build medical technology companies . In his article “ The Physician Inventor ,” Thomas Faiehall laments that providers don ’ t have access to the resources or talent — engineers , designers , researchers and partnerships — and , as a result , they may feel their ability to innovate is hampered . Concept validation through research , prototyping and testing ideas has never been faster or cheaper . Combining technical or subject matter expertise with improved upstream funding for prototyping allows innovators
Engineers Ephraim Pittore and Justin Chambers , Ph . D ., discuss ventilation mechanics with cardiac anesthesiologist Paul Gera , M . D ., while testing a device to improve patient ventilation , which Intermed Labs created for the COVID-19 crisis . Photo by Mon Health System .
to fail fast on inadequate solutions and springboard promising ones .
To strengthen the pool of innovations and improve the efficiency of capital allocation , we need early intervention and objective evaluation from medical technology entrepreneurs , medical advisers , strategic acquirers and business leaders to filter , triage and focus on the most potent ideas . In building out this ecosystem , it ’ s necessary to educate and encourage existing health professionals to think differently about the problems they experience so they actively seek solutions to benefit their patients .
It ’ s also imperative to involve the younger generation in the innovation process , similar to the Stanford Biodesign Fellowship . In this education program , medical , engineering and MBA students team up to identify essential health care needs , invent novel health technologies to address them and prepare to implement those products into patient care through a startup , corporate channels or other channels .
“ Intermed Labs is using its unique expertise to disrupt a legacy industry and share with health systems across the globe .”
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