Applying a structured innovation process to interventional radiology: a single-center experience.

Area of Science:

• Medical Innovation
• Interventional Radiology
• Health Technology Assessment

Background:

• Academic interventional radiology (IR) practices face challenges in systematic medical innovation.
• Established innovation processes can provide a framework for identifying and developing new medical technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a recognized innovation process within an active academic IR practice.
• To evaluate the potential of a structured approach to generate clinical needs and innovative solutions in IR.

Main Methods:

• The Stanford Biodesign Medical Technology Innovation Process was adopted as the framework.
• Seven IR faculty and four IR fellow physicians participated over four months, documenting observations.
• Observations were systematically converted into need statements, with a focus on gastrostomy tube-related needs.

Main Results:

• A total of 82 observations were collected, with fellows contributing more (48) than faculty (34).
• Key observation categories included enteral feeding (11%), biopsy (10%), chest tubes (7%), and chemo/radioembolization (7%).
• A gastrostomy tube need led to a specification sheet and a brainstorming session generating 10 distinct concepts.

Conclusions:

• A formalized innovation process successfully generated a substantial number of clinical observations and potential solutions.
• The structured approach facilitated the identification of significant clinical needs and the development of 10 innovative concepts.
• This study suggests that implementing a structured innovation process can effectively guide academic IR practices toward medical innovation.