Applied research in the field of medical engineering in interdisciplinary networks of physicians and engineers - challenges and results

The development of new medical products and technical systems is a major challenge for all participants. In addition to clinical-medical and technical questions, questions of examination, approval and remuneration must also be considered. However, these challenges can only be adressed by a pooling of all stakeholders along the value chain in the development of new components and systems. At the same time, the creation of appropriate communication interfaces between all partners is essential. The starting point of the development should be the determination of needs of physicians or therapists point of view. Based on this, the analysis and the transfer of the identified challenges into the engineering environment are carried out by means of appropriate intermediate stages. In the subsequent concept and development stagesup to prototyping, the collaboration of physicians and engineers should always take place. One way of working together along the entire value chain is to establish common networks or plat-forms. For example partners along the entire value chain are working together in the networks ""Kinetek"" (focus: locomotor system) and ""Kunstgelenk"" (focus: artifical joints), which were founded by Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and the University Hospital of Leipzig. Establishing a process chain for new medical devices and systems first requires taking a look at potential development paths that have various underlying motives. For example these approaches can be divided into technology-driven and findings-driven implant design. Creating a joint development platform for topology-optimized implants for example is viewed as an innovative approach. It requires suitable software interfaces that facilitate efficient communication and transfer of results between engineers and medical professionals since the approaches of the two disciplines differ as much as do the languages of the two disciplines.