Translating Orthopaedic Technologies into Clinical Practice: Challenges and Solutions

Despite the wealth of innovation in the orthopaedic sciences, few technologies translate to clinical use. By way of a 2-day symposium titled "AAOS/ORS Translating Orthopaedic Technologies into Clinical Practice: Pathways from Novel Idea to Improvements in Standard of Care Research Symposium,"key components of successful commercialization strategies were identified as a passionate entrepreneur working on a concept aimed at improving patient outcomes and decreasing the cost and burden of disease; a de-risking strategy that has due recognition of the regulatory approval process and associated costs while maximizing the use of institutional, state, and federal resources; and a well thought-out and prepared legal plan and high quality, protected intellectual property. Challenges were identified as a lack of education on the scale-up and commercialization processes; few opportunities to network, get feedback, and obtain funding for early stage ideas; disconnect between the intellectual property and the business model; and poor adoption of new technologies caused in part by un-optimized clinical trials. By leveraging the network of professional orthopaedic societies, there exists an opportunity to create an enlightened community of musculoskeletal entrepreneurs who are positioned to develop and commercialize technologies and transform patient care.