Managing the Unexpected in MedTech R&D

We are joined by Alan Humphrey this week! 

As a mechanical and biomedical engineer, Alan has a lot of knowledge in the medical device industry. He shares his vision towards the challenges the development cycle has right now. He calls out also the impacts within the cycle. Alan also reflects on how the teams are addressing the development of new medical technologies. He also shares memories in hindsight of specific production processes and how teams should face up to problems that pop up.

If you know little things about the medical development cycle and wish to learn more, this episode is for you! 

Today's Guest - Alan Humphrey

Alan Humphrey has a double major in mechanical and biomedical engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 

He has been working with Ximedica for almost 5 years now, changing roles from systems engineer to senior systems engineer. Prior to joining Ximedica’s team, he worked in Research and Development at DEKA and Rescale. 

He is also an Eagle Scout and a member of the Biomedical Engineering Honor Society. 

Key Take-Aways

• One of the biggest challenges in the R&D sector is dealing with the unexpected.
• The research side of R&D is always dealing with the unknown, trying things for the first time. 
• There are three pillars to consider in development: medical feasibility, usability, finance, and marketability.  
• R&D is a skill in and of itself. 
• Just because the problem seems obvious, the solution and way to fix it is. 
• Teams must develop a consistent protocol to address problems that pop up. 

Resources

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