title: Unmet needs: relevance to medical technology innovation?
abstract: This paper describes and discusses the role of unmet needs in the innovation of new medical technologies using the National Institute for Health Research Devices for Dignity (D4D) Healthcare Technology Co-operative as a case study. It defines an unmet need, providing a spectrum of classification and discusses the benefits and the challenges of identifying unmet need and its influence on the innovation process. The process by which D4D has captured and utilized unmet needs to drive technology innovation is discussed and examples given. It concludes by arguing that, despite the challenges, defining and reviewing unmet need is a fundamental factor in the success of medical technology innovation.
authors.affiliation: a Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering .|b NIHR Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital , Glossop Road , Sheffield S10 2JF , UK .|c School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield , Regent Court, 30 Regent Street , Sheffield S1 4DA , UK , and.
authors.forename: Avril D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.affiliation: b NIHR Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital , Glossop Road , Sheffield S10 2JF , UK .
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sproson
authors.affiliation: d Devices for Dignity Ltd, Royal Hallamshire Hospital , Glossop Road , Sheffield S10 2JF , UK.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: a Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering .|b NIHR Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital , Glossop Road , Sheffield S10 2JF , UK .|c School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield , Regent Court, 30 Regent Street , Sheffield S1 4DA , UK , and.|d Devices for Dignity Ltd, Royal Hallamshire Hospital , Glossop Road , Sheffield S10 2JF , UK.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tindale
mesh_terms: D020811:Biomedical Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D062069:Inventions; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Innovation; medical technology; unmet needs; user requirements