Results of research for the assessment of medical innovations’ value at an early phase of development in the Netherlands

In August 2021, the Dutch Healthcare Institute (ZIN) published the results of research for the assessment of the value of medical innovations at an early phase of development. The Radboud university medical center was commissioned by the ZIN to investigate this question based on a case study for Anatomy Projector. The objective of the research was to answer the question of how the value of medical innovation is explored and expressed in an early phase, i.e., before market access.

The Anatomy Projector is a medical device developed in Radboud university medical center that projects anatomical structures on a patient body through augmented reality. This innovation resulted from surgeons' experience that the established procedure of breast reconstruction surgery was suboptimal.

During the research, it was explored which clinical and social values ​​the manufacturer and other involved stakeholders should outline in medical innovations. The findings from this case were discussed with seven Dutch innovation initiatives (Brabant Development Company, Health Innovation Netherlands, Innovative Medical Devices Initiative, LifeSciences@Work, Dutch Research Council, Radboudumc Health Innovation Labs, and Healthcare Innovation Center). The report can stimulate innovators to explore the value of their innovation at the early stage of development and to involve supporting initiatives in this exploration. It will facilitate better guidance and compatibility with the Dutch medical innovation ecosystem.

This research is part of a series of exploratory studies into the introduction of medical innovations in Dutch healthcare practice.

The full details in Dutch can be found here.

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