Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Manel González-Piñero et al
used in conjunction with internal sensors. The instrument accurately measures, processes and
'feedback' to <strong>the</strong> patient and clinician <strong>the</strong> data in <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> visual and/or auditory signals. This
information has educational and reinforcing characteristics about <strong>the</strong> muscle activity. The knowledge
<strong>of</strong> muscle activity allows <strong>the</strong> patient and clinician to adjust existing motor patterns by re-educating <strong>the</strong>
muscle or muscle groups for efficient muscle function and voluntary control.
Bi<strong>of</strong>eedback instruments for <strong>the</strong> treatment <strong>of</strong> urinary incontinence have <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> generating
(and also recording for fur<strong>the</strong>r analysis) signals directly related to <strong>the</strong> activity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pelvic floor
muscles. Although a few instruments use <strong>the</strong> exerted pressure as <strong>the</strong> measured signal, <strong>the</strong> most
frequently employed signal is <strong>the</strong> electrical activity associated to <strong>the</strong> muscle contractions or
electromyogram (EMG).
The study wants to put forward how a real biomedical technology developed at <strong>the</strong> Biomedical
Engineering Research Centre <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Technical University <strong>of</strong> Catalonia is finally successfully
transferred to <strong>the</strong> market, showing how researchers, IP managers and business development
managers work toge<strong>the</strong>r to achieve a common aim.
2. The value chain
This concept from business management was first described and popularized by Porter (1985: 36)
“Every firm is a collection <strong>of</strong> activities that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver, and
support its product All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se activities can be represented using a value chain...”. Porter termed <strong>the</strong>
larger interconnected system <strong>of</strong> value chains <strong>the</strong> "value system" (1985: 34) when states that “A firm’s
value chain is embedded in a larger stream <strong>of</strong> activities that I term <strong>the</strong> value system...”. A value
system includes <strong>the</strong> value chains <strong>of</strong> a firm's supplier (and <strong>the</strong>ir suppliers all <strong>the</strong> way back), <strong>the</strong> firm
itself, <strong>the</strong> firm distribution channels, and <strong>the</strong> firm's buyers (and presumably extends to <strong>the</strong> buyers <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir products, and so on).
Figure 1: Porter’s Value Chain
Value Streams were introduced in Porter’s work but were explained more clearly by Martin (1995: 66),
which pulls toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> many issues, models, and methods for transforming <strong>the</strong> traditional old-world
organization into a value-creating enterprise. Martin uses value stream, ra<strong>the</strong>r than process, to define
<strong>the</strong> end-to-end stream <strong>of</strong> activities that deliver particular results for a given customer (external or
internal).
Value chain is a high-level model <strong>of</strong> how businesses receive raw materials as input, add value to <strong>the</strong>
raw materials through various processes, and sell finished products to customers. The value chain
categorizes <strong>the</strong> generic value-adding activities <strong>of</strong> an organization.
A value chain is <strong>the</strong> disaggregating <strong>of</strong> a firm into its strategically relevant activities for <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong>
understanding <strong>the</strong> behaviour <strong>of</strong> costs as well as <strong>the</strong> existing and potential sources <strong>of</strong> differentiation.
The concept has been extended beyond individual organizations. The industry wide synchronized
interactions <strong>of</strong> those local value chains create an extended value chain, sometimes global in extent.
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