Ten steps to transform ideas into product innovations: An interdisciplinary collaboration between nursing and...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Innovation

Background:

• Nurses are pivotal in identifying unmet clinical needs and initiating creative solutions.
• Technological advancements are crucial for addressing challenges in patient care.
• Ideation processes among nurses can lead to novel device development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline the comprehensive device development process from concept to commercialization.
• To demonstrate the practical application of interdisciplinary collaboration between nursing and engineering.
• To design a protective device for peripheral venous catheters.

Main Methods:

• A ten-step methodology for device development was presented.
• Steps include need identification, market and patent searches, confidentiality, institutional support, team formation, idea development, patent application, prototyping, and marketing.
• The methodology was applied to create a protective device for peripheral venous catheters.

Main Results:

• The ten-step process guides the creation of healthcare devices.
• A protective device for peripheral venous catheters was successfully designed.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration facilitated the development of a practical clinical solution.

Conclusions:

• Nurses are essential drivers of healthcare innovation, improving procedures and patient care through device insight.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration between nursing and engineering effectively addresses clinical issues like peripheral venous catheter manipulation.
• Hospital policies should encourage nursing participation in innovation and support nurse leaders in fostering creativity.