Platform for Medical Technology
(PMT)

Cooperation for enhancing quality and efficiency in healthcare.

Introduction

Technology transfer from universities and engineering colleges to healthcare industries or providers has, in many cases, been accomplished following initiatives from the teaching and research institutions; a real 'technology push'. This has led to disappointments when industry was not immediately ready to accept such proposals, for reasons such as the absence of a reasonable market perspective for the product or product idea. Although industries rely heavily on their marketing personnel, they also exert a considerable technology push towards the healthcare market.

An identified weakness in this process is the limited insight in actual needs and innovative ideas present in the healthcare sector.

To facilitate technology transfer and information exchange, the Platform for Medical Technology (PMT) was created in 1995, in the province of South-East Brabant (NL). It is a cluster network consisting of both knowledge institutions (university and colleges), companies and institutions for healthcare delivery. Its main principle is to operate 'demand driven', in other words: is there a need (a market), what are the potential points of improvement in products and services? The structure of PMT, with its strong embedding in the healthcare field reflects the intention to stimulate this 'market pull'.

Medical technology is used in the widest sense of the word and includes all technologies essential in prevention, for hospital- and home care delivery, in rehabilitation and in the field of gerontechnology. These areas present enormous business opportunities. It is essential to have technological input from all disciplines including ergonomics and industrial engineering.

The complexity of the technology transfer in this area requires extra attention, as not only engineering disciplines and industry have to understand each other, but the communication with many healthcare providers (doctors), with their medical, i.e. non-technical training, creates the extra dimension. Many problems identified in the medical, biological or nursing environment often require an extra step, a translation, into engineering terms and concepts.

Objectives

One objective of the Platform is to identify realistic opportunities for innovations in healthcare delivery that require technological input and that potentially lead to the development and applications of new products and services. The knowledge institutes support this with their research and development potential.

A second objective is to inform and advise companies about market opportunities and/or new technologies, to facilitate access to the healthcare field and to create the necessary discussion groups or investigative teams.

The Platform thus acts as 'broker/intermediary' for wide-ranging questions in the area of medical technology and, furthermore, it organises topical information exchange meetings.

Stimulation

The Platform stimulates the co-operation between the healthcare institutions, industry and the knowledge institutes. Healthcare delivery needs and deserves continuous innovative attention: not only by the application of new technologies but also in the process of improving quality and efficiency. Optimal co-operation between the actors in this field is an essential condition for the realisation of useful new products and services. It is a fact that co-operative efforts are sometimes difficult, specifically in this field where many different disciplines are involved and extra attention is required to be successful.

Structure

The structure of the Platform Medical Technology reflects its goals and means of operation. The following elements are present in the Platform:

The Administrative Council of the Platform for Medical Technology (a non-profiting foundation) consists of a Professor from the university as chairman, a Director of a participating community hospital and the Director from the Industrial Innovation Center, to reflect the triangle within which project development takes place.

The Bureau consists of full-time and part-time employees for initialising and executing activities and meetings, the organisation of projects and sometimes their supervision.

The Advisory Board undergoes a gradual growth and consists presently of representatives from:

two large community hospitals (Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven; Elkerliek Hospital, Helmond)
the University Hospital Maastricht
Epilepsy and sleep centre, Kempenhaege, Heeze
an umbrella-organisation of retirement homes and care institutions for elderly, and of home care and ambulatory care facilities (Zorgboog, Helmond)
the diagnostic centre for extramural diagnostic procedures, Eindhoven
the regional organisation for primary care physicians (DHV),
healthcare insurance company (VGZ)
Industrial Innovation Center region South-East Brabant (Syntens)
the Eindhoven University of Technology
the Institute for Higher Professional Education, Eind-hoven (Fontys)
Philips Medical Systems
Medtronic research

This Advisory Board meets four times per year and constitutes an important element in the total organisation. It is a unique group of people with many different backgrounds and it acts as a think-tank for new ideas and for the assessment of trends in healthcare and related technologies.

The Contact Group of Companies

This Contact Group consists of companies and other institutions interested in the approach followed by the Platform; it forms another essential component in the network. This Group is continuously informed about activities and opportunities, for a small annual fee. The members have free access to the topical meetings. Because of the closer links with the Platform, these companies are approached first in the process of project definition and/or in finding production facilities. It is obvious that when expertise cannot be found within these resources, we have to look elsewhere for qualified input.

The Committee of Recommendation

High officials from the Province of North Brabant, from municipalities, the Chamber of Commerce, a University Hospital, and from several medical technology industries have agreed and form a Committee of Recommendation for the PMT.

The Foundation is financially supported primarily by the institutions represented in the Advisory Board. An important subsidy was acquired from the Economic Development Programme for the Region south-East Brabant (Stimulus II, Commission of the European Union). Additional funds are acquired by co-ordination and/or execution of projects. When the preparation of a certain activity requires an extensive time commitment, a budget is agreed in advance as part of the contract, specifying the mutual expectations. The Platform acts as mediator for contacts and contracts between participants in R&D projects. It can perform project management tasks and aims at high scientific quality; the responsibility for the proper execution of the project remains between the project partners.

Activities

The activities of the Platform are mainly oriented towards identifying needs and towards preparing and developing projects up to a level where the project- partners can start their planned activities. To this end, we evaluate ideas, perform feasibility studies, identify partners and investigate funding opportunities. Project management and supervision can be offered. The entire cluster network is an important asset for this advisory and information exchange task.

Suggestions and initiatives for research and development activities, to be organised by the Platform for Medical Technology are generated primarily by the Advisory Board. Also active searches for opportunities in the health care field are performed continuously, thus increasing the market pull and generating projects that are primarily demand driven. Companies and other institutions approach the Platform to find solutions for their problems using the cluster network, with both its extensive medical embedding, its industrial relations and its internal connections in the learned institutions.

Innovative needs and ideas are regularly investigated and topical meetings are organised once or twice a year. Consortia of companies, and care and/or knowledge institutions are formed into project groups to work in specific areas for a specific task.

Funding of R&D activities in the field of medical technology is not always easy to find, because of its multidisciplinary character; the experience by the Platform is growing.

Source book

In 1995, a survey among 50 companies, active in the field of medical technology, was performed to investigate their needs with respect to technological innovations and co-operation, and contacts with the medical community. This survey produced accurate profiles of the companies and completed with background information from the participants in the Advisory Board resulted in a source book. This was distributed widely and used extensively. It constituted also an essential information source for innovative activities of the Platform.

The source book is in the process of being updated and will contain both a business profile of some one hundred companies mainly in the province of North Brabant, relevant information about the institutions of the Advisory Board members and some information concerning health- care markets. This new book will appear in the spring of 1999.

Topical meetings

During such meetings, experts in different fields discuss complex problems and from different viewpoints. A specific objective of such meetings is to conclude with relative concrete plans for further exploration and after identifying people involved in the problem area and others that may contribute to finding a possible solution.

Subjects discussed in topical meetings so far are: decubitus (bedsores), opportunities for R & D support from the European Commis-sion, information technology; user interfaces for health care applications, and home healthcare directed from hospitals.

Projects and other activities

The Platform for Medical Technology makes its services available to all actors in the healthcare field and the individual questions and problems vary widely.

Examples of activities are:

organisation of meetings with (medical) specialists to discuss new product ideas
finding a scientist for a study of appropriate technologies for new products
assisting companies in identifying centres with medical expertise and experimental facilities
performing feasibility studies, for hospitals and industry
bringing in experts for solving information technology issues
translation' of medical problems into technological challenges
consulting and developing of new contacts between project partners
giving assistance in finding financial support.

Typically in 1997, the PMT initiated and/or participated in some 30 different activities, half of which originated from the healthcare field while the other half primarily involved industry.

A favourable region

The circumstances for the successful development of this Platform for Medical Technology in the South-East of the Netherlands have been very fortunate for a number of reasons. The Eindhoven University of Technology has a well-structured internal co-ordination of education, research and development in the field of medical technology and 10% of its research activity is oriented towards insight in or solution of medical problems. A complete graduate program 'Biomedical Engineering' started successfully in September 1997 in close collaboration with the Maastricht University.
The Institute of Higher Professional Education in Eindhoven has also a large interest in medical technology, offers courses for many health-related professions and initiated a specific program in medical technology.

Many production companies in the region (small, medium sized and large) are active in the field of medical technology and have experienced the benefit of clustering and of close co-operation both with medical specialists and with experts form the learned institutions. Authorities in the region recognise the opportunities and actively stimulate the further development of medical technology.

Prof.Dr.ir. Jan E.W. Beneken
Chairman, Advisory Board
Platform for Medical Technology
Eindhoven University of Technology
PO Box 513, IPO 2.23
NL-6500 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 40 247 32 95
Fax: +31 40 244 33 35
Email: j.e.w.beneken@tue.nl