Intellectual Property in Medical Imaging and Informatics: The Independent Inventor’s Perspective

While innovation and new product development is traditionally thought of as the exclusive domain of industry and academia, a large number of innovations in medicine and information technology have come from independent inventors, which account for almost 30% of new patents issued in the U.S. today. A large number of economic, political, and legal challenges exist within the current marketplace that serves as relative impediments to independent invention. This article explores the existing challenges facing the independent inventor and offers a number of recommendations and resources to facilitate independent inventors in their quest for innovation and entrepreneurship. The concept of “outsourcing innovation” is discussed as an alternative to the existing model of industry sponsored research and development (R&D), with the goal of combining the unique attributes and strengths of independent inventors and industry sponsors

The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled Eugene H. Pool, Fourth Surgeon-in-Chief 1933–1935 Followed by Philip D. Wilson, Fifth Surgeon-in-Chief 1935

In 1933, for the second time in the history of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled (R & C), a general surgeon, Eugene Hillhouse Pool, MD, was appointed Surgeon-in-Chief by the Board of Managers of the New York Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled. R & C (whose name was changed to the Hospital for Special Surgery in 1940), then the oldest orthopaedic hospital in the country, was losing ground as the leading orthopaedic center in the nation. The R & C Board charged Dr. Pool with the task of recruiting the nation’s best orthopaedic surgeon to become the next Surgeon-in-Chief. Phillip D. Wilson, MD, from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Harvard Medical School was selected and agreed to accept this challenge. He joined the staff of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled in the spring of 1934 as Director of Surgery and replaced Dr. Pool as Surgeon-in-Chief the next year. It was the time of the Great Depression, which added a heavy financial toll to the daily operations of the hospital. With a clear and courageous vision, Dr. Wilson reorganized the hospital, its staff responsibilities, professional education and care of patients. He established orthopaedic fellowships to support young orthopaedic surgeons interested in conducting research and assisted them with the initiation of their new practices. Recognizing that the treatment of crippling conditions and hernia were becoming separate specialties, one of his first decisions was to restructure the Hernia Department to become the General Surgery Department. His World War I experiences in Europe helped develop his expertise in the fields of fractures, war trauma and amputations, providing a broad foundation in musculoskeletal diseases that was to be beneficial to him in his future role as the leader of R & C

The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled Renamed The Hospital for Special Surgery 1940; The War Years 1941–1945

In 1939, the 75th anniversary program marking the founding of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled (R & C), the oldest orthopaedic hospital in the nation, was held at the hospital site in New York City. Dr. Philip D. Wilson, Surgeon-in-Chief since 1935, used this event to mark the return of the hospital to its leadership role in the country. When the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled first opened its doors on May 1, 1863, the name of the hospital was not unusual; it described the type of patients treated. In 1940, the Board of Managers with guidance from Dr. Wilson changed the name to the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). In 1941, with Britain engaged in a European war, Dr. Wilson felt there was a need for the Americans to support the British. He personally organized the American Hospital in Britain, a privately funded voluntary unit, to help care for the wounded. After the United States actually entered World War II in December 1941, HSS quickly organized support at all levels with a significant number of professional and auxiliary staff, eventually enlisting in the military. Even with such staff turnover, the hospital continued to function under Dr. Wilson’s leadership. After the war ended in 1945, Wilson forged ahead to further restore HSS as a leader in musculoskeletal medicine and surgery

The Hospital for Special Surgery 1955 to 1972: T. Campbell Thompson Serves as Sixth Surgeon-in-Chief 1955–1963 Followed by Robert Lee Patterson, Jr. the Seventh Surgeon-in-Chief 1963–1972

After two decades as the fifth Surgeon-in-Chief (1935–1955) of The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Philip Duncan Wilson, MD (1886–1969) retired, having implemented, during his administration, major changes in the hospital. The first most important accomplishment was finalizing a formal affiliation with New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in 1955 and moving adjacent to the medical campus at 535 East 70th Street. The second was changing the name of the Hospital in 1940 from The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled to The Hospital for Special Surgery. During the two decades as Surgeon-in-Chief, Dr. Wilson was able to reestablish the hospital as a foremost hospital in the orthopedic world. The Board of Managers of the New York Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled appointed T. Campbell Thompson, MD (1902–1986), as the sixth Surgeon-in-Chief of The Hospital for Special Surgery. He assumed that office on July 1, 1955. During the previous year, Dr. Thompson served as President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Philip D. Wilson, upon his retirement as Surgeon-in-Chief, took on a newly created role as Director of Research at HSS. In 1962, adverse relations between The Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center seriously threatened the continued affiliation agreement between the two hospitals. Because of difficulties over a faculty and staff appointment, Dr. Thompson resigned from the office of Surgeon-in-Chief. He was replaced in1963 by Robert Lee Patterson, Jr., MD (1907–1994), who had first joined the staff of The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled in 1936 as a Visiting Surgeon