EXPERT VIEW
RICHARD HALL
PD-M INTERNATIONAL
10 DEVELOPMENTS DRIVING CHANGE
My company, Pd-m International,
is an innovation and product
design specialist based in North
Yorkshire.
Since being founded in 2005 we
have seen huge changes and
developments within the medical
and healthcare industry. Here are
some observations over that time.
1 3D printing: Perhaps one of
the biggest developments
since 2005 is the advent of
3D printing technologies.
Delivering early stage proof-ofconcept through to advanced
prototypes for design validation
- 3D printing has enabled us to
compress the design time and
allow clients to understand the
design narrative from an early
project stage.
2 Wearable technology:
Wearable tech, combined
with the development of apps,
means that it is becoming of
increasing value to healthcare
technologies, for example
patient monitoring systems.
As a result it is opening up
effective patient care at
distance.
3 Social media: Social media
has made the medical and
healthcare community more
connected and accessible.
4 Social funding platforms:
Global access to the web and
social funding platforms such
as Kickstarter and Indigogo
mean that pretty much anyone
can post up their innovation.
5 Local global: The business
community is now able to
access local and international
markets, with efficient
communications platforms
such as Skype, webinars and
translation.
6 Collaboration: The notion of
collaboration has increased.
Examples of this are the
i4i industry and university
engagement programmes and
open sourcing platforms where
innovation is exchanged in an
open context.
7 Patient experts: Gone are the
days of developing a project
without patient stakeholder
engagement. User centred
design is an important aspect
of product development and
becoming high on the agenda.
8 Virtual reality and augmented
reality: Emerging technologies
which will enable both
stakeholders and patients to
realise products before they
are actually created, further
assisting with optimised
innovation.
9 Internet of things: Everyday
objects have network
connectivity, allowing them
to send and receive data - for
example patient diagnostic and
care in the community.
10 Innovation: All of the above
have improved innovation
in its broadest sense, from
patient insight to design
development and subsequent
commercialisation to a global
market place, all to improve
the quality of patient care.
Please note - the views being
expressed are those of the author
and not necessarily Medilink.
06
DOCOBO
ACCELERATED
BY THE NIA
Medilink member Docobo are one of eight
leading innovators selected as a part of
the NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA)
programme - which selects the best
national and international healthcare
innovations of the year in a bid to improve
patients’ lives through fast tracking
cutting-edge and low cost innovations to
the forefront of the NHS.
Each of the innovations are evidencebased and cost-saving - focussing on
providing solutions to key challenges
facing the NHS, including better
prevention of ill health, improved
management of long term conditions and
early intervention into diseases.
The scheme aims to support individuals
with a passion for learning and a
commitment to share their learnings
widely, scaling innovations for greater
patient benefit.
This year, the NIA selected eight new
leading innovations that have the potential
to significantly improve the healthcare
delivered by the NHS.
The winners included
• Adrian Flowerday for Docobo’s
ArtemusICS
• John Moore for ERAS+
• Julia Riley for Coordinate My Care
• Rupert Dunbar-Rees for OBH
Outcomes Platform
• Tom Whicher for DrDoctor.
www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/
innovation/nia/
ARE YOU DIGITALLY
COMPLIANT?
Medilink member Safehand, a new
Sheffield-based consultancy firm. It is
already becoming the industry leader in
helping organisations to comply with the
mandatory digital health safety standards
SCCI0129 and 0160 - working alongside
NHS Trusts and software manufacturers to
assure digital health products.
Safehand recently partnered with
psychological therapy software provider
CCBT who, with a growing customer base
in the UK, were keen to demonstrate their
commitment to patient safety.
Adrian Stavert-Dobson, Managing
Partn er of Safehand said, “With our
help, companies like CCBT can achieve
compliance straight-forwardly without
interrupting project delivery.”