In medical technology, product innovation is becoming ever more complex. A group of Swiss companies has successfully launched a multidisciplinary competence center in order to speed up development projects for its customers.
Long term success in the global medical technology market can only be achieved through constant innovation. In Switzerland, medtech industry leaders as well as policy makers are keenly aware of this fact. According to a study commissioned by the Swiss industry association Medical Cluster, the highest growth prospects are enjoyed by those companies of the industry which reported the highest research and development investments in relation to their turnover, thus promoting innovation despite the current economic crisis. But the rapid development of high-quality medical technology requires the employment of a broad spectrum of diverse know-how in design, engineering and production. Developers, suppliers and service providers have to coordinate their cooperation. This is a demanding task even for the largest and most sophisticated companies in the field. Hence, small and mid-sized companies often shy away from complex development projects.In the highly competitive medtech industry, cooperation of product development partners with partially overlapping fields of expertise is certainly not common.The example Erdmann Design shows however that companies with specific professional competences can work together successfully.
Design Thinking is faster innovation
Design Thinking is based on the conviction that outstanding innovation can be created when interdisciplinary groups unite and analyze the needs and motivations of the end-users from the outset of product development. Concepts are designed, tested and realized in an iterative, application orientated process.
The masterclass will present four project examples, from the idea- to the pritotyp phase and will be followed by a Q&A session.
