What do Air Liquide, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Valeo, Schneider Electric, Michelin, Dassault Systèmes have in common? Medical Devices!
Air Liquide, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Valeo, Schneider Electric… This is the story of an unprecedented industrial alliance. Four major groups from different sectors joined forces to produce 10,000 ventilators in just two months during the COVID crisis.
Michelin, the world leader in tires, developed inflatable cushions for ICU patients in collaboration with the Amiens University Hospital to reduce bedsores and facilitate ventilation during the peak of the pandemic, when thousands of patients were in coma. This solution was tested in nine French hospitals in recent months, and now Michelin announces it will commercialize it under its own brand, Michelin AirProne. The French group, which currently generates 95% of its revenue from tires, plans to reduce this share to 75%, or even 70%, by 2030.
Dassault Systèmes adapted its virtual particle dispersion simulator based on hospital room ventilation to combat COVID-19 contamination.
These companies were able to develop and adapt their technology to meet the urgent needs of the COVID crisis. Such industrial performance was achieved by major groups previously unthinkable in our ecosystem. Thanks to the pandemic, these industrial players developed patents and positioned themselves as healthcare actors with real technological expertise.
Ultimately, innovation often comes from atypical collaborations. It is about pooling resources and combining know-how to propose solutions to the market within tight deadlines. In urgent situations, motivation is driven by finding solutions to human needs faster. Solving problems, turning constraints into opportunities, observing and better understanding needs during a crisis. This puts humans back at the center of concerns. This is the design approach. In French, “design” is often linked to style and aesthetics, whereas in English it is associated with problem-solving. “Design is not about how it looks, it’s about how it works” (Steve Jobs).
We are now in the post-COVID era, witnessing the emergence of new health technologies — a thriving, innovative, and dynamic sector. Bridges are being built; professionals from transversal industries are not so far from our own. The Medical Device industry needs skills in mechanics, plastics, electronics, materials science, metallurgy, textiles, optics, IT, digital, sterilization… Why not recruit a research engineer from the automotive industry to join a medical device project team tomorrow? Diverse profiles can work together effectively.
Our Medical Device industry is increasingly opening up to collaborative innovation and attracting highly skilled talent.
Céline Efaiki
Community Manager
