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Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks
An orthopaedic medical device refers to a part, implant, prosthetic or orthotic which is used to address damage to the body's musculoskeletal system, primarily by providing stability and mobility. Orthopaedic medical devices play a role in injury-related disorders, which have been highlighted as a k...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Human Biology
2021
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| _version_ | 1867613253447712768 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Salie, Faatiema |
| author2 | Douglas, Tania |
| author_browse | Douglas, Tania Salie, Faatiema |
| author_facet | Douglas, Tania Salie, Faatiema |
| author_sort | Salie, Faatiema |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | An orthopaedic medical device refers to a part, implant, prosthetic or orthotic which is used to address damage to the body's musculoskeletal system, primarily by providing stability and mobility. Orthopaedic medical devices play a role in injury-related disorders, which have been highlighted as a key element of the quadruple burden of disease in South Africa. In this thesis, orthopaedic devices are conceptualised as a technological field and a technological innovation system (TIS) framework is applied to understand orthopaedic device development in South Africa. Knowledge development and knowledge diffusion are fundamental components of any innovation system. The thesis hypothesises that the functions “knowledge development” and “knowledge diffusion through networks” of the orthopaedic devices TIS are influenced by contextual factors. The objectives of the study are: to identify the actors who generate knowledge for orthopaedic device development and to characterise the relationships between them; to identify focus areas of orthopaedic device development; to provide insight into the drivers and barriers to knowledge development and diffusion in the TIS; and to identify the contextual factors that influence knowledge dynamics in the TIS. These objectives are investigated using social network analysis based on bibliometric data (scientific publications and patents), keyword networks, a review of institutions, and a set of case studies where the primary data source are interviews with actors. Actors producing knowledge were from the university, healthcare, industry and science council sectors, although science councils played a small role. International actors were shown to bring new ideas into the TIS. The networks were fragmented, illustrating that knowledge diffusion through the networks was limited. This was especially the case in the patent networks as many actors patent in isolation. The keyword networks highlighted unrealised collaboration potential between actors based on their common research interests. The case studies revealed features of cross-sector interaction for orthopaedic device development not evident from network analysis based on bibliometric data. Drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion were: inter-sectoral collaboration; the availability of resources; the affordability of available devices; and the positive externalities of allied TISs. The main barrier to knowledge development and diffusion was in the form of barriers to intersectoral collaboration. These include unmatched expectations from partners in collaboration, different views on intellectual property ownership, and burdensome university administrative processes. The orthopaedic devices TIS was structurally coupled to the embedded TIS and sectoral contexts, and externally linked and structurally coupled to its political context. Knowledge development and diffusion was found to be positively enhanced by innovation in the additive manufacturing TIS, with shared structural elements and resources. Knowledge development and diffusion was influenced by sectoral dynamics of the university, healthcare and industry sectors. This thesis makes the following contributions. First, it applies the TIS framework to a new focus area, namely medical device development, in a developing country context. Second, it makes two unique methodological contributions: it presents an index to capture the extent of sectoral collaboration in a network; and it develops a method for determining the collaboration potential of actors in a network based on cognitive distance. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33951 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:12.104Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Department of Human Biology |
| publisherStr | Department of Human Biology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33951 Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks Salie, Faatiema Douglas, Tania de Jager, Kylie Health Innovation An orthopaedic medical device refers to a part, implant, prosthetic or orthotic which is used to address damage to the body's musculoskeletal system, primarily by providing stability and mobility. Orthopaedic medical devices play a role in injury-related disorders, which have been highlighted as a key element of the quadruple burden of disease in South Africa. In this thesis, orthopaedic devices are conceptualised as a technological field and a technological innovation system (TIS) framework is applied to understand orthopaedic device development in South Africa. Knowledge development and knowledge diffusion are fundamental components of any innovation system. The thesis hypothesises that the functions “knowledge development” and “knowledge diffusion through networks” of the orthopaedic devices TIS are influenced by contextual factors. The objectives of the study are: to identify the actors who generate knowledge for orthopaedic device development and to characterise the relationships between them; to identify focus areas of orthopaedic device development; to provide insight into the drivers and barriers to knowledge development and diffusion in the TIS; and to identify the contextual factors that influence knowledge dynamics in the TIS. These objectives are investigated using social network analysis based on bibliometric data (scientific publications and patents), keyword networks, a review of institutions, and a set of case studies where the primary data source are interviews with actors. Actors producing knowledge were from the university, healthcare, industry and science council sectors, although science councils played a small role. International actors were shown to bring new ideas into the TIS. The networks were fragmented, illustrating that knowledge diffusion through the networks was limited. This was especially the case in the patent networks as many actors patent in isolation. The keyword networks highlighted unrealised collaboration potential between actors based on their common research interests. The case studies revealed features of cross-sector interaction for orthopaedic device development not evident from network analysis based on bibliometric data. Drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion were: inter-sectoral collaboration; the availability of resources; the affordability of available devices; and the positive externalities of allied TISs. The main barrier to knowledge development and diffusion was in the form of barriers to intersectoral collaboration. These include unmatched expectations from partners in collaboration, different views on intellectual property ownership, and burdensome university administrative processes. The orthopaedic devices TIS was structurally coupled to the embedded TIS and sectoral contexts, and externally linked and structurally coupled to its political context. Knowledge development and diffusion was found to be positively enhanced by innovation in the additive manufacturing TIS, with shared structural elements and resources. Knowledge development and diffusion was influenced by sectoral dynamics of the university, healthcare and industry sectors. This thesis makes the following contributions. First, it applies the TIS framework to a new focus area, namely medical device development, in a developing country context. Second, it makes two unique methodological contributions: it presents an index to capture the extent of sectoral collaboration in a network; and it develops a method for determining the collaboration potential of actors in a network based on cognitive distance. 2021-09-16T10:47:51Z 2021-09-16T10:47:51Z 2021 2021-09-16T07:09:42Z Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33951 eng application/pdf Department of Human Biology Faculty of Health Sciences |
| spellingShingle | Health Innovation Salie, Faatiema Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| title_full | Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| title_fullStr | Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| title_short | Analysis of orthopaedic device development in South Africa: Mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| title_sort | analysis of orthopaedic device development in south africa mapping the landscape and understanding the drivers of knowledge development and knowledge diffusion through networks |
| topic | Health Innovation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33951 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT saliefaatiema analysisoforthopaedicdevicedevelopmentinsouthafricamappingthelandscapeandunderstandingthedriversofknowledgedevelopmentandknowledgediffusionthroughnetworks |