Swiss Medtech Report 2012 - Medtech Switzerland

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Invention Product Development From the laboratory to the marketplace Though Switzerland is a small country it produces a high volume of cutting edge research and innovative medical therapies. By building active collaborations across multiple disciplines the Swiss medtech industry exploits its intellectual resources to produce maximum innovation potential. CORE sTRENGTHs Many groundbreaking in novations happen at the interface between engineering, medicine and biology. To make optimal use of synergies, the ETHZ founded the Department Health Sciences and Technology (D-HEST) in January 2012 to combine teaching and research in health sciences and medical engineering. Natural scientists and engineers work together in food and nutrition science, medical engineering, movement and sports sciences and neurosciences. The focal area ‘Technology and Knowledge for Health’ will be promoted during 2012–2016 with the transfer of these topics to hospitals being the final goal. BRaIN MEETs TECHNOLOGY At the EPFL in the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, a mul - tidisciplinary team of biologists, psychologists, medi - cal doctors, physicists, engineers and computer scientists, are investigating the functional and neural mechanisms of body perception, corporeal awareness and self-consciousness. They combine psychophysical and cognitive paradigms with state-of-the- art neuroimaging techniques. The goals are to develop neuroscientific models of body perception, corporeal awareness and self-consciousness by linking complex phenomenological experience of body and self to brain mechanisms of multisensory corporeal perception. The Blue Brain Project, a co-operation with IBM, where researchers reconstructed the brain piece by piece to build a complete virtual brain in a supercomputer, achieved worldwide recognition. After five years of work, the team can create realistic models of processes within the human brain. At IBM Research Zurich, scientists pursue exploratory and applied research to pave the way for future innovations in IT. They collaboratively work on 6 Manufacturing Facts & Figures Marketing & Market Access Regulation & Healthcare Funding & Financing pro j e cts to tackle some of the bigger challenges on our planet. The experimental biosciences team applies their expertise in micro and nanotechnologies to solve problems in biology, medicine and life scienc - es. For instance the team has developed a flexible, non-contact microfluidic probe made from silicon which serves as a unique tool to help researchers and pathologists in investigating critical tissue samples accurately for disease diagnostics and drug discovery. The eight-millimeter-wide, diamond-shaped probe delivers an antibody in a highly specific area of a tissue. A few picoliters – one trillionth of a liter – of liquid containing antibodies is sufficient for each analysis spot. The CSEM is at the interface between research and industry. Specialized in micro and nanotechnology, system engineering, microelectronics and communication technologies, its scientists and engineers transfer custom-made innovative solutions to industry. Transfer examples are portable human vital signs monitoring systems, point-of-care systems for multi-parameter biochemical monitoring or miniaturized sensing, processing and packaging, and wireless communication technologies to serve the needs of a non-invasive and mobile healthcare service. Product concepts for disabled people, such as artificial retinas, hearing aids and ambient assisted living-related smart sensors, are increasing in demand. Future trends are the integration of human vital signs monitors and biochemical data for mobile health services, as well as implantable devices with neurostimulation. Emphasis is placed on mental and neurological disease monitoring and artificial organs, such as the artificial kidney, developed within the European project Nephron. CLOsE TO CUsTOMERs Besides education and training, listening closely to SMEs and deliv-
ering the solutions they need to run their business more efficiently is the task of the Universities of Applied Sciences. The R&D projects depend on intensive cooperation between physicians, engineers and computer scientists and create the framework for many interdisciplinary works for bachelors or masters degree students. A good example is the Institute for Human Centered Engineering, HUCE, whose research groups combine new technologies in close cooperation with industry and hospitals to create innovative products such as a complete recording system that measures ECG signals from inside the esophagus close to the heart. To support both the cooperation with the private sector and the commercialization of research results, the Swiss universities set up the Swiss Technology Transfer Association, or SWITT. In Switzerland which is a country poor in natural resources, it has become clear that intellectual advancements and teamwork create the success of the Swiss medtech industry. Patents – sound basis for negotiation Medical technology developments present patent agents with a challenge as they differ from other technical domains. The particularities have to be known and taken into account when drafting a patent application, rather than dealing with them later in a legal wrangle. EssENTIaL DIFFERENCEs Medical technology was named the ‘top technical field’ in 2011 with 9,351 European patent applications filed, and Switzerland ranking third in Europe in terms of absolute number of filings. This year, however, there is a decrease of 5.9% of granted patents published compared with the previous year. Just because an invention is technically and creatively possible does not necessarily mean that it is patentable. The development has to be new and satisfy a long-term need or overcome a prejudice of the experts in the field. It has to be suitable for commercial application, offer an economic or ecologic solution or stand out from the grey average with an excellent concept and an innovative approach. Candidates for a patent are for instance devices for surgery, diagnosis and therapy. Excluded from patentability are medical treatments, diagnosis and therapies for the human or animal body. A patent is a ‘negative protection’ in the sense that it prevents others from using our invention for commercial purposes, for instance for manufacturing or selling products with the same or similar features. The claims – written statements – are part of the patent application and define what the invention is and what it can do. PROTECTIvE sHIELD? It’s true that a patent can give protection against plagiarism and the theft of ideas by competitors making it a useful tool for technologies sales over the longer term. However, in a rapidly changing technological environment where an invention becomes obsolete within 1 or 2 years, when it is difficult to copy or when the patent is vulnerable, it should consider whether a patent is the best solution. Today, the Asian markets are the focus of much intellectual property (IP) attention. “For the Asiatic regions, obtaining a patent is extremely important,” states Dr. Peter Felder, European Patent Attorney with expertise in medical device technology. “The life of a patent is 20 years, calculated from the date of its filing. Therefore, the patent protection should not be neglected with the argument that Asian manufacturers disregard protection rights. In China IP rights, for instance, can also be enforced. We detect a positive trend in this area.” More importantly, the number of patent applications filed by Chinese companies in China shows an enormous increase. “To operate successfully in the Chinese market, a proactive patent strategy is indispensable,” comments Felder, who also lectures at the University of Zurich on the subject of protection of intellectual property. “Such a patent strategy includes not only the registration of property rights, but also the monitoring and – if necessary – the intervention against patent applications of competitors.” CLEvER IDEas If the Swiss medical technology industry wants to be a leading global player in the future, it needs efficient structures to transfer the newest research results into pioneering products and services to achieve maximum market success. Such an institution is Unitectra, the technology transfer organization of the Universities of Basel, Berne and Zurich. They support scientists in their collaboration with private industry and other public or private research institutions. As a non-profit company they offer researchers a helping hand in the protection and management of intellectual property and other related services. Only with a continuous flow of fresh and unconventional ideas can successful concepts for the future be created, and the high quality be constantly improved. 7
Page 1 and 2: Swiss Medtech Report.
Page 3 and 4: INTRODUCTION Switzerland, like many
Page 5: INNOvaTIONs FORIMTECH SA is a leadi
Page 9 and 10: CENDREs+MéTaUx sa Cendres+Métaux,
Page 11 and 12: flects the product language and cor
Page 13 and 14: sURFaCE TECHNOLOGY KKS Ultraschall
Page 15 and 16: focused on achieving a high level o
Page 17 and 18: ZIEMER GROUP Founded in 1998 in the
Page 19 and 20: from the competition by supplying a
Page 21 and 22: sWIss MaDE Switzerland is the world
Page 23 and 24: medical devices, there are still ve
Page 25 and 26: sUPPORT Financing of young technolo
Page 27 and 28: The start-up financing phase funds
Page 29 and 30: HOTsPOT Switzerland boasts one of t
Page 31 and 32: Source: Data from the Swiss Medical
Page 33 and 34: Source: Swiss members of Medical Cl
Page 44: Publishers of the Swiss Medtech Rep

Swiss Medtech Report 2012 - Medtech Switzerland

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