Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS
21.2.2019
Addressing an audience of researchers who are developing technology-based medical devices, the goal of the workshop was to showcase the proposed solutions, analyse the market transfer potential of the technologies supporting them and, at the same time, reflect about the needs and strategies to effectively reach the targeted customers.
The Project MDevNet: National Network of Knowledge Transfer on Medical Devices, coordinated by Fraunhofer AICOS, is a network acting as a discussion forum that includes workshops, seminars and other networking activities with entities involved in the development, commercialization, use or transfer of medical device technology. The project aims at sharing best practices and clarify regulatory requirements for a more efficient transfer of knowledge, and has had more than 500 people participating in the activities of the MDevNet network, namely in seminars, workshops and work meetings, during the years 2018 and 2019.
The agenda for the workshop addressed the following topics: certification as a fundamental step in the process of materializing the value of R&D results (presented by Nuno Felício – Fraunhofer AICOS / MDevNet); success factors for the adoption of medical devices (presented by Celina Lourenço – SIEMENS); and innovation and empathy for the future of medical devices, that included a sprint of Design Thinking (presented by Nuno Vargas – Senior Innovation Consultant – Fraunhofer AICOS).
The participants were also challenged to present the technologies they are developing, highlighting the problem they are solving, and the level of innovation and applicability of their technologies.
For the most part, the solutions presented a high level of maturity and potential transfer to the market, some of them already very close to their official licensing, which can be confirmed in the catalogue of technologies soon to be published by the MDevNet network.
The MDevNet network, coordinated by Fraunhofer AICOS, thus plays a fundamental role in this ecosystem, fostering the sharing of experiences and knowledge, strengthening the connection between the ideas and projects that are born within the Universities and their transfer to the market, with the consequent impact on the economy and the quality of life of citizens.
Project ‘MDevNet – National Network of Knowledge Transfer on Medical Devices’, is an initiative co-funded by ‘COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização, ‘Portugal 2020’ and the European Union through the ‘FEDER – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional’.
Co-funded by: