Producing New Innovations and Innovators—
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"The Plight of the Innovator - How to Get Out of It" by Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D.—October 18

Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D., inventor of the balloon catheter, will deliver the final Whiting-Turner lecture of the fall semester as part of the 2012 Fischell Festival of Bioengineering. Lecture Date & Time: October 18, 2012, 5 p.m. Lecture preceded by reception at 4:30 p.m.

Abstract

The field of medicine is not always friendly to innovation. The Hippocratic Oath states, “Do no harm,” and so we teach, particularly in surgery, “Do the same things, the same way, to the same people.” The “standard of care” in the legal arena is another factor weighing against innovation; if you do not adhere to the standard of care and your patient develops a complication, you will likely be sued and lose the suit. However, while consistently applying proven approaches is important, and standards have their place, there are significant differences among patients that we must recognize and treat, and new technologies whose promise we must explore. This is where innovation comes in. Innovation means that the new must displace the old—not only old technologies, old concepts and old relationships, but old perspectives. To displace the old, the new must prevail or we must make the old new again. This is the plight of the innovator.

Students Welcome!

October 18
Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D., founder, Fogarty Institute for Innovation
Webcast link

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