A cross-faculty project involving the Department of Physics and Department of Management has seen SBS successfully help develop the strategic dimension of enabling the adoption of a new radiotherapy technology developed by the physics department for use in healthcare settings.
Professor Dino Jarosynski from the Physics Department has been working on developing the Laser Plasma Wakefield Accelerator which offers radiotherapy that is used as both a curative and palliative treatment for cancer by harnessing laser-driven plasma waves as particle and radiation sources. In autumn 2011, Dr Barbara Simpson (Department of Management) identified an opportunity for SBS to help develop the strategic dimensions of the LPWA being adopted in the healthcare arena. SBS PhD graduate Dr Peter Keenan (Department of Management), whose professional and research background lies within the NHS, then got involved, with the project team being Dr Keenan, Professor Jarosynski, Professor Marie Boyd and Annette Sorenson from the Physics Department.
Dr Simpson said, “The University’s Strategy for Knowledge Exchange calls upon academics from different disciplines working together to share ideas and insights from their respective fields to help the adoption of new technologies and help realise the commercialisation of research. This was an opportunity for the Department of Management to become engaged in such activity in a meaningful way.”
The main aim of the project was to bring a business perspective to new developments in advanced science and technology and was funded by the Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) through the University’s Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC) under their Healthcare Technologies theme. The EPSRC had highlighted the need for better engagement with scientists and those in the healthcare system to help progress the adoption of new health technologies.
Dr Keenan said, “In the case of LPWA we set out to identify and engage with key stakeholders who could help support this innovative technology being adopted. This included addressing some of the key challenges faced when multiple professional groups are involved in developing and delivering new systems of care and treatment.”
He went on, “Like other TIC projects, we developed a process map that established some short-term goals that can be achieved within the next year. It became clear from a stakeholder analysis exercise we undertook together that there were many different groups and audiences that Professor Jarosynski required to engage with. These ranged from funding councils, engineering firms, NHS training bodies, and Scottish Government sub-groups.
“To help communicate with these diverse groups, we invited the University’s Computer Aided Design (CAD) centre to help develop 3D visual illustrations for an educational and promotional video which we anticipate will be accessed via the TIC’s web portal. We hope this format might better engage key funders, but also help clinicians understand how the LPWA works and so that awareness of this technology increases.”
“There remain a number of milestones that need to be achieved well beyond the duration of our six-month collaboration in terms of miniaturisation of the LPWA apparatus, and acceptance for clinical trial on an NHS site. However, we have developed some very important building blocks for these things to happen and to move the LPWA towards full adoption.”
The cross-faculty project resulted in benefits to both parties. Dr Keenan said, “From a business and innovation perspective, this was both an exciting and complex project that involved taking cognisance of so many different factors. From the early stages, it was clear that we occupied very different areas of expertise where ‘the natural’ met ‘the social’ sciences and vice versa. It’s fair to say some ideas and concepts from both sides could get lost in translation or be met with polite nods and blank expressions, but we always found a language that ensured our scientific aspirations could be realised in a practical sense.”
Professor Jarosynski added, “This project has helped us look at moving this technology forward in a different way and has offered us some clear ideas about what steps we ought to consider both now and at a later stage. The stakeholder management approach was a very different process for us to take and helped us greatly.”