Solving problems together

It is hard to talk about product innovation within the Medical Innovation Fellowship (MIF) program without talking about clinical immersion and health care providers.  MIF fellows start their 10.5 month journey into innovation by spending a month observing and listening to physician/researcher identified pain points and problems in need of a solution within the context of health care.

The design thinking process of product innovation is one of the guiding principles of the MIF program and its fellows consist of scientists, engineers and clinicians who are looking for unmet medical needs and potential partners.

It’s pretty simple: When clinicians and scientists don’t have the time, technical expertise and/or market-focused know-how, the fellows may be the right partner for solving an identified problem. When interdisciplinary experts collaborate great things can happen for patients and patient care.

What would help you be more effective or efficient in the care you provide your patients? Do you have an idea for it? Do you want help figuring it out? Please read on and consider submitting your unmet medical need.

Needs form


    What happens after submission?

    The MIF Director and fellows will meet to discuss and review submitted needs.

    1. If the program chooses not to pursue your idea, you will be promptly informed of the decision and the rationale behind it. Submitted needs will be evaluated and scored based on Feasibility and Impact. Please note that to assess feasibility factors such as development time, expertise and financial aspects will be evaluated. To assess impact we will evaluate market size, clinical significance and user perceived value.
    2. If the program is interested in further exploring your idea, you will also be informed and the fellows will need 4-6 weeks to conduct due diligence on the concept. During this time, the fellows will research market needs and trends, technical feasibility, legal landscape, available resources and alignment with MIF program resources.
    3. If the submitted need passes the due diligence phase, the fellows will contact you to determine if you are interested in moving forward with a partnership.
    4. If you and MIF decide to move forward together, your submitted need will become a MIF development project. Please note that one of the goals of the MIF program is to create protectable intellectual property that can be commercialized either through licensing or start-up creation.
    5. If your idea is not selected by the current MIF cohort but was identified as having commercialization potential, a member of the WORLDiscoveries team will contact you to see if you are interested in connecting with other potential resources/partners on campus.