Building Productive Collaborations: Creation of A Technological Research and Development Unit (UIDT) of the ICAT in the General Hospital of Mexico

Abstract

Nearly seven years after the signing of the Collaboration Agreement for the establishment of a Research and Technological Development Unit (UIDT, from Spanish) of the Applied Sciences and Technology Institute (ICAT, from Spanish), previously Applied Sciences and Technological Development Center (ICAT, from Spanish) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM, from Spanish) within the General Hospital of Mexico “Eduardo Liceaga” (HGMEL, from Spanish), in this article we propose that there have been diverse human and organizational factors that allowed a smooth and nice birth of the institution and it seems there are good medium term consolidation perspectives. In a first exploration the UIDT has favored the processes of interchange of information and interdisciplinary communication between physicians and specialists of the health sector with the UNAM’s physicists and engineers to reach agreements for the development of R&D trans-disciplinary projects with high social impact potential. Through the results that are observed up to now, we note that the joint work between the parties has led to the development of different projects whose protocols have been approved by the corresponding medical, ethical and academic committees. Besides the conventional academic results there are emerging some specific technological results in the fields of medical devices, computer programs and a pair of technological transfers very promising in terms of the wide number of patients that will use them, as the cranial prostheses case or a hepatic pre-diagnostics auxiliary software method. This paper reviews various relevant organizational aspects resulting from the establishment of the UIDT and the lessons learned during the process.