Close Collaboration Between Medical Professionals and Engineers in Medical-Device Innovation: The Commons for Medicine and Engineering Japan Liaison Platform

Abstract

In Japan, most devices used in medical institutions are imported. One major reason is the poor flow of information to manufacturers regarding clinical needs, which has resulted in a weak medical-device industry. Medical professionals thus face difficulties in sourcing appropriate domestic devices and employ devices produced abroad instead. Both opportunities and an environment that encourages close collaboration between medical professionals and engineers are necessary to improve the medical-device industry. However, disciplinary barriers and differences in work priorities between medical and engineering fields make such collaboration difficult. This leads to the question: where do the boundaries lie between physicians and engineers in Japan, and how can these barriers be overcome to enable collaboration between the medical and engineering fields? This chapter presents a case study of a liaison platform called “Commons for Medicine and Engineering Japan”, which seeks to provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas and information between medical and technological fields, with the particular involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises. The author discusses the boundaries question as well as user-led innovation, reflecting on how disciplinary barriers can be crossed to spur medical-device development. The many sophisticated technologies resulting from these activities serve as proof of the innovativeness of this platform.