We are delighted to announce Dr Jennifer Kruger from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland will give a seminar on ‘Innovation and Commercialisation. When is this a good idea? ’ on Friday 27 May 2022 at 9am. Insigneo Members please check your calendar invitations for online joining details. To request an invitation please contact info@insigneo.org.

Abstract

In recent times there has been more emphasis on commercial outcomes from academic institutions, usually in the form of patenting and licencing of inventions, or formation of ‘spinout ‘companies.  Indeed, many granting bodies now see this form of generating academic impact as highly desirable as it becomes a way of measuring academic impact by market acceptance.  Sometimes these even form part of a grant applications outcome requirements. 

My research is in Women’s health, with a focus on pelvic floor muscle function particularly as it relates to childbirth.  Development of instrumentation to accurately measure physiological parameters, such as pressure is one of the hallmarks of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute.  We need these parameters to inform computational models, but also in a clinical setting. 

In this talk today, I will focus on our journey – where the development of a prototype research instrument, developed to measure the vaginal pressure profile, has grown into a manufactured medical device. I will describe the highs and lows and how to avoid the ‘valley of death’!  This will necessarily be from a New Zealand context, but I hope that you will still be able to realise some learnings.

Speaker biography:

My name is Jennifer Kruger and I lead the Pelvic Floor Research group, at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland. The focus of my research is pelvic floor muscle function and dysfunction in women, with more recent emphasis on instrumentation development to manage urinary incontinence in women.   I am  a founding member, and current CEO of a spin-out company, JUNOFEM (Ltd) which is in the process of commercialisation of the device (femfit®).

I also am a current member of the scientific committee of the ICS, and have been since 2017.

I have over fifteen years of clinical experience in nursing and midwifery, before returning to academia where I gained a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science, and then a postdoctoral fellowship at the Bioengineering Institute.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to bring clinical and bioinstrumentation development understanding to a particular issue, having been at the ABI since 2010, where my research group has grown to include post graduate students and senior engineers.  Many of these same researchers are now key people in the company.