Innovation in the medical device sector: an open business model approach for high-tech small firms

Do Regulatory Changes Seriously Affect the Medical Devices Industry? Evidence From the Czech Republic

Background: Within the EU, some of the challenges and perceived risks now facing medical device (MD) developers result from changes in the regulatory framework, emphasizing safety. Therefore, medical technology companies must adopt stricter quality assurance measures so that individual devices can be speedily tracked and retrieved in emergency situations.

Objectives: We highlight the challenges and risks faced by the European medical devices industry, particularly those faced by SMEs in the Czech Republic. We address two important research questions: Q1. Do advantages from increased regulation outweigh the additional expenses? Q2. As many MD developers are SMEs, will the new regulatory regime result in some of those companies going out of business and therefore impede future innovation?

Methods: The paper focuses on a single case study, with the situation and outcomes discussed in the context of the financial results of a further 50 medical device manufacturers marketing in the Czech Republic.

Results: Our findings suggest that the new legislation will result in improved safety, facilitate product recalls, but the cost and administrative burden may be high. The evidence also indicates that some SMEs may be forced to diversify to “non-medical” products, with the inevitable loss of innovative MDs being made available to patients and healthcare providers.

The Italian Case of Lecco Innovation Living Lab: Stakeholders’ Needs and Activities to Contribute to the Technological Innovation Process in Healthcare

Healthcare technological innovation is a very complex process in which different actors interact with each other, creating a large number of interconnections and synergies in the design of technological innovations. Despite the increasing number of living labs (LLs) in healthcare, building and maintaining LLs for technological innovation in healthcare is challenging. Collaboration with stakeholders remains an issue of major concern in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to identify stakeholders’ needs in building an LL in healthcare and to plan activities to foster the innovation process. The paper is based on an exploratory single case study investigating an Italian LL. Eight stakeholders’ needs were identified and validated. Specific activities were identified as improving the innovation process in terms of the stakeholders’ needs. The study contributes to the development of domain-specific knowledge and, as such, to the fostering of studies on and the implementation of LLs in healthcare.

Building an innovation system of medical devices in China: Drivers, barriers, and strategies for sustainability

Objectives

This article aimed to discuss the emergence of medical device sector in China from a sectoral innovation system perspective, to explore the drivers and barriers to the successful building of an innovation system of medical devices, and to highlight the policy implications and suggestions for sustainable innovation of medical devices.

Methods

A theoretical framework of sectoral systems of innovation was applied in the analysis of data, and materials were collected from multiple sources with particular attention paid to the evolutionary phases, structure, and function of the innovation system.

Results

The evolution of medical device sector in China could be divided into four phases: initialization (1960s-1970s); exploration (1980s); steady growth (1990s); and rapid growth (since 2000). Through analyzing the innovation system's structural components of technology, actors, and networking, as well as institutions, this study indicated that the government policy decision was the most important driver that affected the virtuous cycle of the Chinese medical device innovation system, followed by market demand and entrepreneurial activities. However, barriers against the innovation cycle such as knowledge base development and diffusion, legitimacy, and resource mobilization still remained.

Conclusion

In its endeavor to build an innovation system, the Chinese medical device sector had made some progress in meeting the local medical demands and improving its industrial competence. Although a Chinese innovation system for medical devices was initiated under the guidance of the government, knowledge advancement and diffusion had become the main challenges for the sustainability of innovation in this sector. The future development depends on China's effort and ability to establish education and health research systems specific to medical devices.

Structural equation modelling – FTOPSIS approach for modelling barriers to product development in medical device manufacturing industries

Purpose

The purpose of this paper model and prioritizes barriers to product development in medical device manufacturing industries using an integrated “structural equation modelling” (SEM) and “fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution” (FTOPSIS) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Barriers to medical device development (MDD) are adopted from literature. The initial structural model is proposed, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis are used to determine factor loading and model fit, respectively. Further, FTOPSIS is used to rank the barriers and sensitivity analysis is carried to check the robustness of results. The results are discussed in detail and the recommendations to overcome the barriers are presented.

Findings

Barriers analysed and prioritized in this research significantly hinder the MDD. The expert survey is used to develop an initial structural equation model of barriers to MDD, find the reliability and validity of the model. Based on the opinion of the experts, the barriers are divided into three categories – internal, policy and induced barriers. FTOPSIS is applied to rank and prioritize the barriers based on views from these three classes of experts. More reliance on imported devices leading to increased imports (B11) and lack of uniform regulatory standards (B6) are found to have the highest rank together, indicating these to be the most important barriers from the perspective considered here. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the factors are less sensitive to the weights of criteria further confirming the reliability of the initial solution.

Research limitations/implications

The prioritization of barriers may vary based upon experts. Policymakers, existing and new device developers need to give utmost importance to these barriers, which will help to accelerate the indigenous development of medical devices to overcome the present dependence on imports.

Practical implications

This paper demonstrates an integrated structural based modelling and prioritization technique for statistical modelling and prioritization of barriers to MDD. The results and recommendations will help policymakers and manufacturers to increase the indigenous share of medical devices. The integrated methodology can be effectively applied where the need for the combined quantitative and qualitative approach is there.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates an effective structural based modelling and prioritization technique. It can be effectively applied in various fields, it will help policymakers and manufacturers to increase the indigenous share of medical devices.

Healthcare in the age of open innovation – A literature review

Background:

In spite of an increased interest in open innovation and strategies that call for an increased collaboration between different healthcare actors, there is a lack of open innovation research in public contexts.

Objective:

This article presents the results of a review regarding the healthcare sector’s engagement in open innovation as well as constraining factors and positive outcomes of open innovation in healthcare.

Method:

The literature search focused on papers published in English between 2003 and 2014. Based on specified inclusion criteria, 18 articles were included.

Results:

Results reveal that most studies focus on inbound open innovation where external knowledge is integrated with the internal knowledge base at an initial phase of the innovation process. Innovation primarily results in products and services through innovation networks. We also identified constraining factors for open innovation in healthcare, including the complex organizations of healthcare, the need to establish routines for capturing knowledge from patients and clinicians, regulations and healthcare data laws as well as the positive outcome patient empowerment.

Conclusion:

The healthcare sector’s engagement in open innovation is limited, and it is necessary to perform further research with a focus on how open innovation can be managed in healthcare.

Medical devices early assessment methods: systematic literature review

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to get an overview of current theory and practice in early assessments of medical devices, and to identify aims and uses of early assessment methods used in practice.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted in September 2013, using computerized databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus), and references list search. Selected articles were categorized based on their type, objective, and main target audience. The methods used in the application studies were extracted and mapped throughout the early stages of development and for their particular aims.

RESULTS

Of 1,961 articles identified, eighty-three studies passed the inclusion criteria, and thirty were included by searching reference lists. There were thirty-one theoretical papers, and eighty-two application papers included. Most studies investigated potential applications/possible improvement of medical devices, developed early assessment framework or included stakeholder perspective in early development stages. Among multiple qualitative and quantitative methods identified, only few were used more than once. The methods aim to inform strategic considerations (e.g., literature review), economic evaluation (e.g., cost-effectiveness analysis), and clinical effectiveness (e.g., clinical trials). Medical devices were often in the prototype product development stage, and the results were usually aimed at informing manufacturers.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed converging aims yet widely diverging methods for early assessment during medical device development. For early assessment to become an integral part of activities in the development of medical devices, methods need to be clarified and standardized, and the aims and value of assessment itself must be demonstrated to the main stakeholders for assuring effective and efficient medical device development.