Year: 2011-12

Company: Kinetic Concepts Inc.

Liaison(s): Michael Manwaring, Braden Leung, Eric Tan

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (KCI) is a medical technology company focused on the development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative products for wound healing, tissue regeneration, and therapeutic support systems. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, it initially focused on motion-based therapy systems and has since become a global leader in the wound healing and regenerative medicine markets with the introduction of its negative pressure wound healing platform and tissue matrix technologies. The KCI TMP team was asked to analyze rising innovation technologies within the orthobiologics market and explore their potential to leverage KCI’s technology and capabilities. Orthobiologics is a branch of orthopedics which focuses on the regeneration and restoration of normal function to damaged musculoskeletal tissues. To accomplish this task, the team identified novel, noninvasive biophysical technologies using primary literature, patents and by conducting interviews with experts in the field. The collected information was evaluated using technical findings to establish feasibility, novelty, safety and efficacy. This information was ultimately summarized in a technology overview. Additionally, a market segmentation and competitive analysis was conducted based on areas of unmet need. The final deliverable was presented in the form of a recommendation for or against adoption of one or more noninvasive biophysical technologies in the chosen orthobiological market segments, including an analysis of the business and technical risks for KCI.