THEME 1: Defining “best practices” in health technology design. What design strategies are applied by the most innovative biomedical equipment manufacturers around the world? Among existing technologies, what are the technical, clinical and organizational features of a technology that generates major health gains at low cost? What are the emerging trends that will impact the landscape of health technology in the coming decades?

THEME 2: Understanding the Canadian biomedical equipment market. What are the particular incentives and constraints that shape the biomedical equipment market in this country? Focusing on the most active manufacturers in Canada, five areas will be surveyed: 1) organizational characteristics; 2) products; 3) incentives and constraints shaping innovations; 4) relationships with the governments; and 5) relationships with clinical settings.

THEME 3: Profiling health technology trajectories. What aspects of the R&D processes have the most important impact on the technical, clinical and organizational characteristics of health technologies? How do design strategies and market factors interact and forge particular technological trajectories? How do various types of trajectory impact the health care system, providers and patients?

TRANSVERSAL THEME: Bridging upstream and downstream perspectives. How can an understanding of the full technology life cycle be translated into concrete actions for a better management of technology in health care systems? How can health technology design and industrial policies be improved through the use of such integrated knowledge?