Innovation doesn’t just happen. It requires lots of time and effort and experimentation to find a solution that works. As Thomas Edison said about his efforts to create a light bulb, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” One way to encourage and accelerate innovation is to create a setting where entrepreneurs can experiment and interact. Technology incubators are created just for this purpose.
This week, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced a partnership with MATTER to create “The AMA Interaction Studio at MATTER.” MATTER is a healthcare technology incubator in Chicago, and this new project will be housed in the iconic Merchandise Mart building. The plan is to create a space features and infrastructure that simulates a typical healthcare setting. This will provide a realistic environment for physicians and other healthcare professionals to interact with entrepreneurs and developers on new products and services. This 450 square foot space will be a test lab that will speed development of solutions for patient care problems, by getting input from the people who will be responsible for applying them to their work.
This experimental setting could lead to a wide range of new technology, including wearable Health Tech devices that could address a wide range of issues, from patient monitoring to diagnosis and treatment of conditions.
