Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DIH-HERO (Digital Innovation Hubs in Healthcare Robotics)
Berichtszeitraum: 2020-01-01 bis 2021-06-30
The route for embedding medical innovations in clinical practice is tough, time-consuming and requires substantial investments. It involves clinical testing, developing efficient production methods, reaching investors, establishing a company and handling distribution, just to mention a few steps. Furthermore, multiple actors are working on various innovations in robotics. The major objective of the DIH-HERO project (Digital Innovation Hubs in Healthcare Robotics) is to establish a broad-based pan-European network of Digital Innovation Hubs specialized in Healthcare Robotics. The network focuses on providing services which connect business and healthcare stakeholders in developing innovative products and services for the healthcare market. It is aimed to establish channels between healthcare and technology providers that reduce barriers to adoption and create strong mutual understanding between robotics technology innovators and healthcare professionals. Each hub within DIH-HERO follows the ambition to deliver both technical and medical expertise through their pre-existing operational relationships with hospitals and healthcare facilities. This initiative unites expertise in business development, access to finance and innovation to robotics technology and healthcare expertise in a network of hubs that will connect and stimulate robotics innovation in all aspects of healthcare. Through this, the platform will significantly leverage added value throughout the entire value chain in the healthcare ecosystem, by sharing knowledge, connecting the right stakeholders and stimulating tailored investments. In addition, DIH-HERO is built on concrete plans to sustain the network beyond the time span of the project and to provide a long-term network for innovators in healthcare. The network of Digital Innovation Hubs will make a real difference through accelerating robotics innovation in healthcare, supporting SMEs and slightly larger companies to develop global reach and propagating the advantages of robotics-based healthcare across Europe, striving to bring excellent products and services to the market, to the best benefit of the end-consumer - the patient.
The activities performed from the start of the project can be summarised as follows:
Connectivity
• Capturing knowledge and insights establishing the required portal specifications for partners, associate partners, and the broad public
• Strengthening and growing of network connections in the local hubs
• Assessing the engagement of large companies and the development of a survey to assess needs and engagement
• Developing the structure and labelling of information captured within the catalogues
• Identifying the content hierarchy for the knowledge base
Dissemination
• Developing the communication concept for DIH-HERO
• Disseminating various activities and benefits of the DIH-HERO network, via multiple communication channels and tools
• Implementation and continuous dynamic adjustment of communications concept focusing on digital tools due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Organising an international knowledge conference
Services
• Capturing and categorising the needs of the EU healthcare ecosystem and state-of-play
• Establishing a plan to create concrete service designs and offers for each service category
• Maintaining and growing the service directory, organising services webinars and launching interactive tool on ethics
FSTP
• Building and improving an online call submission and call handling platform and setting up procedures for call implementation, management, and evaluation
• Organising an international brokerage event
• Preparing and opening of four scheduled open calls offering as well as the unplanned COVID-19 call and organising webinars to inform about the calls
• Awarding, Monitoring and Coaching of 43 innovation projects for healthcare robotics
Sustainability
• Conducting interviews with different stakeholders understand their attitudes to innovation, needs and worries about disruptive technologies such as healthcare robotics
• Assessing of different business models, based on field research, several design thinking events and in dept comparative analyses in relevant industries
• Developing of a sustainable business model and establishing a draft of the business plan
Portal Development
• DIH-HERO web-portal and FSTP handling platform online
• Defining of the structure and taxonomies of the different DIH-HERO portal catalogues
• Developing, testing and roll-out of further portal components such as the organisation catalogue and the people catalogue
Standards
• Developing a questionnaire on the industry-led standards and best practises and conducting interviews
• Publishing of online knowledge base of best practises
• Organising regular meetings and open working documents with experts on the design and development of software applied to healthcare robotics
• Investigating and organising a webinar of the standardisation for Disinfection robots in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic
• Development of a standards tool and directory
Management
• Setting up a communication structure with regular consortium meetings
• Collaborating with several European initiatives and participation in different working groups
• Collaborating with the EC to define the best way to support healthcare professionals in the fight against the pandemic.
• Award of 3.5 million to implement an additional WP 9 in the work plan targeted at clinical deployment
Connectivity
• Capturing knowledge and insights establishing the required portal specifications for partners, associate partners, and the broad public
• Strengthening and growing of network connections in the local hubs
• Assessing the engagement of large companies and the development of a survey to assess needs and engagement
• Developing the structure and labelling of information captured within the catalogues
• Identifying the content hierarchy for the knowledge base
Dissemination
• Developing the communication concept for DIH-HERO
• Disseminating various activities and benefits of the DIH-HERO network, via multiple communication channels and tools
• Implementation and continuous dynamic adjustment of communications concept focusing on digital tools due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Organising an international knowledge conference
Services
• Capturing and categorising the needs of the EU healthcare ecosystem and state-of-play
• Establishing a plan to create concrete service designs and offers for each service category
• Maintaining and growing the service directory, organising services webinars and launching interactive tool on ethics
FSTP
• Building and improving an online call submission and call handling platform and setting up procedures for call implementation, management, and evaluation
• Organising an international brokerage event
• Preparing and opening of four scheduled open calls offering as well as the unplanned COVID-19 call and organising webinars to inform about the calls
• Awarding, Monitoring and Coaching of 43 innovation projects for healthcare robotics
Sustainability
• Conducting interviews with different stakeholders understand their attitudes to innovation, needs and worries about disruptive technologies such as healthcare robotics
• Assessing of different business models, based on field research, several design thinking events and in dept comparative analyses in relevant industries
• Developing of a sustainable business model and establishing a draft of the business plan
Portal Development
• DIH-HERO web-portal and FSTP handling platform online
• Defining of the structure and taxonomies of the different DIH-HERO portal catalogues
• Developing, testing and roll-out of further portal components such as the organisation catalogue and the people catalogue
Standards
• Developing a questionnaire on the industry-led standards and best practises and conducting interviews
• Publishing of online knowledge base of best practises
• Organising regular meetings and open working documents with experts on the design and development of software applied to healthcare robotics
• Investigating and organising a webinar of the standardisation for Disinfection robots in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic
• Development of a standards tool and directory
Management
• Setting up a communication structure with regular consortium meetings
• Collaborating with several European initiatives and participation in different working groups
• Collaborating with the EC to define the best way to support healthcare professionals in the fight against the pandemic.
• Award of 3.5 million to implement an additional WP 9 in the work plan targeted at clinical deployment
By establishing a broad-based pan-European innovation and collaboration platform for healthcare robotics, the DIH-HERO network expects to increase the deployment of robotics in the healthcare application domains by connecting the different stakeholders across the value chain and enabling innovators, and SMEs, to successfully develop and introduce products to the market. Furthermore, SME cross-border certification shall be facilitated through offering access to industry-led standards, best practices, ELSE knowhow, and a knowledge base accessible via the central European DIH-HERO portal. This way, SMEs are supported and can increase their knowledge of standards and the essential but time-consuming certification processes. Regarding the economic impact of DIH-HERO the platform is expected to reduce the time-to-market of new innovations in healthcare robotics significantly. This shall be achieved by offering various services and accelerating European collaboration. By building up and continuously expanding the DIH-HERO services and standardisation directory as well as constantly developing and integrating different elements in the platform, such as organisation, person, project and services catalogues, a knowledge database and brokerage module, DIH-HERO will create a sustainable "one-stop-shop" platform boosting collaboration, innovation in the sector. In addition, DIH-HERO not only offers financial support to innovative SMEs and slightly larger companies, but also effective entrepreneurship support through innovation coaching to stimulate an entrepreneurial mindset and to create and empower innovative ecosystems to start-up new businesses around the platform. In addition, existing companies shall be scaled-up and the productivity and competitiveness of European companies shall be leveraged. Furthermore, market entry barriers for new robotic innovations are expected to be reduced through educating both healthcare professionals and patients and building trust.