Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2023
  4. arrow_forward_ios 06
  5. arrow_forward_ios In the business of health

In the business of health

5 June 2023

UTS research is supporting the commercialisation pathway for precision medical device technology in Australia.

A Stryker Aero CT scan sits in the middle of a laboratory.

The UTS Business School has worked with global medical technology company Stryker since 2017, applying a new research methodology that supports commercialisation of technology in Australia by building a value proposition and business case based on end-user experience.

Business researcher Dr Katrina Skellern says making a robust business case for commercialisation is an integral but often overlooked step in the medical technology commercialisation pathway.

While companies routinely conduct market research after a new technology is developed, researchers at the UTS Business School explored stakeholder needs and how Stryker could address them from the beginning of this project.

“Product development is usually very tech-focused – it looks at the value of the technology and whether it meets a clinical need,” says Dr Skellern, an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Business School.

“But by partnering with UTS Business School, Stryker brought a different lens to their product development mindset through the application of a new methodology that highlighted the perspective of the value proposition for the customer.”

"Just-in-time implants"

The "Just-in-time implants" project will have a wider impact on Australian business and the economy. Photo: James Giggacher, RMIT

The new research methodology was developed by UTS in its role as part of the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) project based in Melbourne, a research partnership between Stryker, four Australian universities and St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, to develop just-in-time (JIT) patient-specific implants for sarcoma patients.

JIT implants are customised bone implants made in the hospital through a combination of 3D printing, robotic surgery and advanced manufacturing. The aim is to significantly improve outcomes for sarcoma patients by reducing the time it takes to manufacture implants off-site and removing the risk the implant will not be appropriate for the patient.

JIT technology holds promise internationally but has yet to be implemented in any clinical service in Australia because there is generally no business readiness in hospitals to develop JIT manufacturing capability.

The Business School and Stryker worked together to improve the development and implementation of the JIT solution. The researchers started by mapping the entire journey of each stakeholder, including industry, government, non-government, health, community advocacy and universities, to identify gaps and what value Stryker could add.

Over five years, UTS researchers investigated the market opportunity, identified the value proposition, and found process efficiencies, using theoretical business methodologies that commercial companies do not traditionally use.

“We looked at the project through a commercial lens for Stryker, but also from the point of view of the hospital, the health system, the potential economic impact and the regulatory framework – all of the potential challenges the company might need to consider,” Dr Skellern says.  

The UTS researchers identified that there was no need to manufacture each implant within five hours in the operating theatre, as the developers had suggested, and that a seven-day turnaround was what the Australian health system required. The developers then pivoted the project to make the implants deliverable within seven days.

The researchers went on to work with Stryker as the company developed a new R&D Lab in Australia.  

Stryker's R&D Lab will focus on digital health, robotics, enabling technologies and advanced manufacturing research, and will bring its new patient-centric focus to all that it does.  

“Stryker’s project with the IMCRC demonstrated the importance of collaborative, open R&D and helped shape our current approach to innovation,” Stryker Senior Director, Research and Development and IMCRC Partner Investigator Rob Wood said.  

Dr Skellern says the innovative use of a business methodology to support medical device commercialisation has other potential implications for the sector in Australia.

The UTS research team is partnering closely with regulatory authorities such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the Department of Health and Aged Care to address limitations in the regulatory and reimbursement frameworks for patient-specific devices.

In future, this could lead to better incentives for companies to commercialise their products in Australia, says Dr Skellern.

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to UTS Business School News

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility