Physician - Engineering collaboration

The collaboration between physician and engineer is critical for the effective development of new devices and systems for the medical environment. There are a number of methods of collaborative practice in industry, and most physician/engineering collaboration is between structurally different organizations in which there are a variety of economic, social, and behavioral barriers to effective communication. Mayo Clinic has embedded engineers in patient care, research, medicine, and surgery, in order to create new devices and systems which are tailored directly to the needs of medical care and patients. The organization has electrical, mechanical, biomedical, software and chemical engineers as well as technologists, machinists and a glassblower combined in a Division of Engineering that concentrates on novel developments. The Mayo engineering staff collaborates with over sixty departments and divisions and hundreds of physicians, creating devices and instrumentation sometimes with additional collaboration with companies and research institutions around the world. Protecting intellectual property is critical so that the innovations can be brought to market for the ultimate benefit of the patient.