The new industry-in-clinic platform AIM (Access for Innovation in Medical Technology) is designed to systematically support collaboration between medical technology companies and hospitals. Its goal is to improve patient care, strengthen the performance of the healthcare system, and enhance the innovation capacity and international competitiveness of the medical technology sector in Germany.
To develop new medical devices, close cooperation between industry and hospitals is essential. For example, in order to comply with the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR), companies require clinical data from hospitals. However, physicians and nursing staff generally lack the capacity to provide such support to industry partners. Within the funding programme “Establishing Industry-in-Clinic Platforms for the Development of Innovative Medical Devices”, the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) supports the project “Central Coordination Office for Innovations in Medical Technology” (ZIMT). The new industry-in-clinic platform AIM aims to help medical technology companies gain access to hospitals without placing an additional burden on clinical staff.
The project has a total volume of €1,345,700 over a period of three years, of which €605,565 is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).
Project Partners
BioRegio STERN Management GmbH is the coordinator of the project and is responsible for developing the industry-in-clinic platform AIM, which aims to enable targeted access for medical technology companies to clinical environments as part of the initiative.
Additional project partners include:
- Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
- Hertie-Institut für klinische Hirnforschung
- Erbe Elektromedizin GmbH
- HB Technologies GmbH
Project Timeline
The project started in May 2024 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2027. The kick-off meeting took place in October 2024, bringing together project partners from industry, research institutions, and hospitals at the premises of the NMI in Reutlingen.
Outlook and Fields of Application
The new industry-in-clinic platform AIM aims to establish structured pathways for integrating medical technology companies into clinical environments. Although cooperation between industry and hospitals in the development of medical devices is widely desired, both sides face a fundamental dilemma: companies have a significant need for clinical data—for example, to comply with the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR)—but often lack access to hospitals. At the same time, physicians are already heavily burdened and lack the capacity to provide the innovation-driving input that industry requires.
This is where the AIM platform comes into play. A central element of AIM is a dedicated management team that acts as an efficient interface, coordinating requests from industry and aligning them with clinical structures. An innovation management function will help accelerate the transfer of developments from research into practical application. The team is complemented by a “navigator”—a medical expert who facilitates contacts with clinicians and researchers. Overall project management is designed to optimize the value chain: from idea generation and development through to application, ensuring short pathways and clearly defined points of contact.
Pilot Projects
The platform’s services will be tested, evaluated, and further developed within various research and development projects to assess their performance and practical suitability. These pilot projects cover a wide range of medical disciplines, including psychiatry, gynaecology, urology, and immunology. Key topics include the detection of motor disorders in adolescents with psychosis using sensor-based assistive systems, research into an AI-based tracking system for tumour treatment, and the development and evaluation of biomaterials for personalised implants.
Services and Offerings
The AIM platform is designed to provide industry partners with services that simplify research and development projects carried out in cooperation with hospitals and service providers. In this way, innovations can be implemented in a more application- and needs-oriented manner, more efficiently and more rapidly, while clinical and healthcare-related expertise is transferred more effectively into the economy.
In the future, the platform’s services will be made available to a broad range of medical technology companies.
The industry-in-clinic platform AIM (Access for Innovation in Medical Technology) is funded with €605,565 (Funding Code: 13GW0610) by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of the project “Central Office for Innovation in Medical Technology” (ZIMT) within the action field “Healthcare Industry” of the framework program “Health Research".