Paul G. Yock, MD, MA, presented the C. Walton Lillehei Lecture during the STS Annual Meeting. In his lecture, “The (Radically) Changing Landscape of Medical Technology Innovation,” Dr. Yock encouraged participants to view innovation as a discipline—one that can be taught, practiced, and recreated. He acknowledged, though, that comprehensive innovation can be difficult in the health care setting because it involves multiple stakeholders. He likened the “user” in this scenario to an “eight-headed monster.” Dr. Yock said that to manage this complexity, the biodesign process should utilize the overarching principles of “identify,” “invent,” and “implement,” which—like design thinking—places the invention step in the middle.

Dr. Yock is the founder and director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign in California.