How to bring an invention to market.

[TheArmsman]

Awhile ago, a good friend of mine had some surgery done.

I came up with away of using a piece of equipment help her out, using equipment not designed for the task.

When I told Tucson's number one plastic surgeon about it, he was very enthused and wants to try it.

Any ideas on how to get something like that started?

Thanks in advance.

Kevin

[Yogimus]

Step 1: copyright it

[308Mike]

My wife used to work in the industry with having medical devices approved by the FDA, and did MUCH testing (to failure) for such devices. Drop me an email and I'll make sure my wife gets it to give you an idea of what you're facing (other than number ONE getting ANYONE else involved, get a NON-DISCLOSURE, NON-COMPETE agreement in place BEFORE showing them the idea).

Other than the FAA, the FDA is probably the only other most heavily regulated industry in the USA. My wife can probably point you in the right directions and let you know what you're looking forward to. You don't even have to tell us what it is, she can still point you in the right directions. You have to realize that not only does the hardware have to be FDA approved, but also the software too (which she always tried to find ways to crash).

HOWEVER, no matter the hurdles, if your idea is a good idea, you should pursue it and you might be surprised at how much funding you'll be able to get if it's a promising idea, and you'll probably be offered to be bought out.

[esa5444]

Do a patent search. Google has a pretty good one. A lot of things that are patented are not produced. If there is a patent that has expired, no problem. If the patent is current, up to you whether to give up or get rights from the owner. If there is no patent file a provisional patent application ASAP. The provisional patent gives you a year before you have to file a full patent application, but it secures that IP as yours. It's best to have a lawyer write up the provisional one, but you can do it yourself. The full patent application, you need a lawyer.

Then, with the provisional patent filed, you have a year. Work on the design to the stage that you can produce a prototype. Write up a, for lack of better term, business plan. Have a well researched economic case. What's the demand, what's the competition, how much it will cost to manufacture, distribute, and to create an organization that will be able to do this; it sounds like you want to manufacture something. That means you need technical experts, a means to manufacture stuff (could be a third party), and if it's medical equipment, like Mike said, you will need someone who makes sure you can comply with legal requirements. Then talk about your selling price, and the most important word there is, profit. 5 year NPV is a good one to use.

Additional points if you have a plan to how to transform the company to either "we manufacture the widget that everyone wants" or "will be a major start-up in the industry". That means your investor is looking at either a real company, or more likely, something a major company will gobble up, much to the investors' profit.

Now, go find yourself an investor. Could be a buddy. Could be a venture capitalist firm. Present to them all of the above in a professional manner. If you do all of the above, they will see the work and take you seriously. The IP is a big one for them as well. Tell them how much money you'll need. Find someone who agrees to fund you and under conditions you can agree to and go for it.

My guess is that if you want to start a profitable enterprise manufacturing medical equipment, you will need 500,000 on the small side. A million might be more likely. Don't try to skimp on this, since you will be totally screwed if you run out of money before you can make money. And don't underestimate the cost of getting the market to know about your product.

Also, I advise you sort of start small. For something like this, grow your business locally first. Don't say your target customer is every person in the world. You'll have neither the manufacturing capability nor product advertisting to do it. you sound like a quack if you say "I'll make it and the whole world will buy it". Say something like that you intend to reach our through area doctors and medical journals. That way you can get your product on the market and used by real customers, and you can gradually increase your customer base. That sounds reasonable and achievable.

[Erik]

I really dont know anything about patents, but considering this:

I came up with away of using a piece of equipment help her out, using equipment not designed for the task.

Can a new way to use existing equipment be patented? If the equipment itself already exists, and no modification is done to make it a new product?

[HTRN]

The minute you start talking medical, the costs start skyrocketing. Expect to spend a million dollars getting approved, and upwards of 5 years or more. Note, that's just for approval. Setting up a company to make it, and soaking up the operating costs till income starts rolling in, may mean at least another million, quite probably more. A better idea is to patent your idea(which will still probably cost you 10 grand), and then as soon as it goes pending, start shopping it around to various companies, either "buy"(selling the patent) or "Lease"(royalty payments).

The only way he's going to start making this himself, is either starting with deep pockets, or some serious outside investment(which has become very skittish in the last few years, due to the economy imploding ~ "Angels" are far more likely to sink smaller sums into companies that will produce a quicker payback these days).

[Denis]

Tell no-one!!!

Seriously.

No-one.

No-one other than your own patent attorney, that is.

Until you have done a patent search (or had one done) and decided whether your invention/idea/novel use of something existing is patentable.

The two criteria which often destroy patent filings are "obviousness" and "prior publication / public domain".

By telling an expert, you may have already made your clever idea "obvious" to experts in the field, especially if he tells a friend, and the friend tells a few friends and so on... something ingenious but never before known can all of a sudden become completely "obvious".

By telling someone about your idea, you risk having made it public. Don't tell anyone! Seriously.