The Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology: A Model for Effective Creativity in Academic Neurosurgery

Abstract

Background: There is currently an acceleration of new scientific and technical capabilities that creates new opportunities for academic neurosurgery. OBJECTIVE: To engage these changing dynamics, the Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology (CINT) was created on the premise that successful innovation of device-related ideas rely on collaboration between multiple disciplines. The CINT has created a unique model that integrates scientific, medical, engineering, and legal/business experts to participate in the continuum from idea generation to translation. METHODS: The workflow is structured to enable cross-disciplinary interaction, both intramurally and extramurally between academia and industry. This involves a structured method for generating, evaluating, and prototyping promising device concepts. The process begins with the “Invention Session,” which consists of a structured exchange between inventors of diverse technical and medical backgrounds. Successful ideas, which pass a separate triage mechanism, are then sent on to industry-sponsored multidisciplinary fellowships to create functioning prototypes. RESULTS: After 10 years, the CINT has engaged 78 clinical and non-clinical inventors, 95 fellowships, and 19 patents - for which 11 have been licensed to industry. CONCLUSION: CINT is a model that supports an integrated approach from the time an idea is created through its translational development. To date, the approach is successful in creating numerous concepts that have led to industry licenses.