The new industry-in-clinic platform AIM (Access for Innovation in Medical technology) is designed to specifically support cooperation between medical technology companies and hospitals in order to improve patient care, increase the efficiency of the healthcare system and strengthen the innovative power and international competitiveness of the medical technology sector in Germany.
Ideally, industry and hospitals must work closely together to develop new medical devices. For example, in order to comply with the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR), companies need data from hospitals. However, neither doctors nor nursing staff have the capacity to support the industry. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting the ‘Central Office for Innovations in Medical Technology’ (ZIMT) project as part of the ‘Establishment of industry-in-clinic platforms for the development of innovative medical devices’ funding programme. The new industry-in-clinic platform AIM (Access for Innovation in Medical technology) is intended to help medical technology companies gain access to hospitals without placing an additional burden on hospital staff.
The project has a project volume of 1,345,700 euros over a period of three years, of which 605,565 euros will be funded by the BMBF.
Project partners
BioRegioSTERN Management GmbH is the coordinator of the project and is developing the industry-in-clinic platform AIM, which is intended to bring medical technology companies into clinics in a targeted manner as part of the project.
Also involved in the project are:
- Natural and Medical Sciences Institute at the University of Tübingen (NMI)
- Tübingen University Hospital
- Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH
- HB Technologies GmbH
- Raylytic Software GmbH
Project progression
The project began in May 2024 and is expected to be completed in April 2027. The project partners from companies, research institutions and clinics met at the NMI premises in Reutlingen for the kick-off meeting in October 2024.
Outlook and fields of application
The new industry-in-clinic platform AIM aims to find ways to bring medical technology companies into clinics in a targeted manner. Although it is desirable for industry and hospitals to cooperate in the development of medical devices, both face a dilemma: companies have an immense need for data from clinics, for example to comply with the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR), but cannot find access. Doctors, on the other hand, are overworked and have no capacity to provide the impetus for innovation that is so important for the industry.
This is where the new platform comes in: The key role in AIM is played by a management team that will act as an efficient interface, including coordinating enquiries from the industry. For example, a Market Access & Post Surveillance Manager will support companies in fulfilling regulatory requirements and answering questions about reimbursement. An Innovation Management team is tasked with transferring developments from research to application more quickly. The team is completed by ‘pilots’: medical experts from the clinics and the university who liaise with doctors and researchers. Project management optimises the value chain: from the idea to development and application, there should be short paths and specific contacts.
Model projects
The performance and practical suitability of the platforms' services are being tested and further developed in various research and development projects. The specialist areas of these pilot projects range from psychiatry, gynaecology and urology to immunology. Topics include the detection of motor disorders in adolescent psychosis with the help of sensor-based assistance systems, research into an AI-based tracking system for the treatment of tumours, the development and evaluation of biomaterials for personalised implants and the development of a platform for archiving and providing medical data, in particular image data, for clinical diagnostics, experimental work and industrial applications.
Offers and services
The AIM platform is intended to offer industry a ‘one-stop shop’ as a service to simplify product development in co-operation with clinics and service providers. In this way, innovations are to be realised in a more application- and demand-oriented, efficient and faster manner and clinical and healthcare knowledge is to be transferred more effectively to industry.
The key role in AIM is played by a management team that will act as an efficient interface, including coordinating enquiries from industry. For example, a Market Access & Post Surveillance Manager will support companies in fulfilling regulatory requirements and answering questions about reimbursement. An Innovation Management team is tasked with transferring developments from research to application more quickly. The team is completed by ‘pilots’: medical experts from the clinics and the university who liaise with doctors and researchers. Project management optimises the value chain: from the idea to development and application, there should be short paths and specific contacts.
In future, the platform's services will be available to a wide range of medical technology companies.
The industry-in-clinic platform AIM (Access for Innovation in Medical Technology) is funded with €605,565 (Funding Code: 13GW0610) by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the project “Central Office for Innovation in Medical Technology” (ZIMT) within the action field “Healthcare Industry” of the framework program “Health Research".