Stanford Biodesign is an ecosystem of training and support for Stanford University students, fellows, and faculty with the talent and ambition to become health technology innovators. It’s program in co-operation with India ran till 2015 under Stanford-India Biodesign and helped focus on innovations focusing on affordability, i.e frugal innovations.

According to the recently published article on Stanford Medicine- At what cost?

After 15 years of teaching the art of patient-focused medical-technology innovation — resulting in the formation of 41 companies that have developed devices to treat more than 500,000 patients — Yock and his colleagues are expanding Stanford Biodesign’s focus to include medical cost innovation: developing devices that help patients at a cost that provides maximum clinical value.

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He (Prof Paul Yock) stresses that medical cost innovation isn’t a shift to lower-quality innovations. Complications, longer hospital stays and readmissions — all things patients would rather avoid — also add to costs. Innovative devices to reduce those outcomes would lower the cost of hospital stays and get patients back to their lives more quickly.

The challenge is to revise the training model to include reasonable cost as a goal for innovations.

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In its 15-year update, Stanford Biodesign isn’t changing its process, which has proven successful time and again. Instead, it’s moving cost evaluation up front, and teaching fellows about health-care economics.

Read the whole article by Amy Adams.. it is very engaging and informative.