Lessons learned from a successful experience in technology transfer

Abstract

Our experience in developing a CAD/CAM system for designing prostheses and orthoses illustrates many of the problems in transferring technology from a research laboratory into clinical use. Some key factors in the successful technology transfer were: (1) the close and continuous collaboration between clinicians and engineers during development; (2) a relatively long period of clinical testing of prototypes with subsequent improvements in design; and (3) involvement of the research staff throughout the technology transfer process, including technology evangelism, training, and technical support. Our research staff trained 53 clinicians from 37 VA hospitals to use the new CAD/CAM technology for prosthetics. The training consisted of 1-week courses at our research facility followed by on-site training at each hospital and technical support by telephone. Our experience training clinicians demonstrated the importance of designing a system which is easy to learn so that training requirements are minimized. Additionally, we have identified ‘environmental’ factors outside of our control which affected the successful adoption of the new technology at particular sites.