1994 Project Reports | Contents | Previous | Home |
Dissemination of Information
Gayle Curtis, MS; JoAnn Uhelszki, BA; Maurice Le Blanc, MS; and Alvin H Sacks, PhD
Publications - An important product of the Rehab R&D Center is the knowledge, understanding and information produced as a result of the research and development activity here. In order for this knowledge to provide benefit, the information must reach the audience that is in a position to make use of it. Scientific findings are published in refereed technical journals. However, to reach the broader lay audience, as well as clinicians, manufacturers and technical people outside a given speciality, other publications are needed. This is the role of the publications effort in the Technology Transfer (TT) section.
This 1994 Report, for example, is intended to communicate the scope and breadth of recent work to a number of audiences that would not be reached by publications in technical journals. The OnCenter newsletter (Figure 1) is an example of a publication targeted specifically for manufacturers and potential industrial collaborators, to facilitate the movement of new devices and technologies from the Center to commercialization.
Figure
1. Examples of materials produced by the Technology Transfer section for
information dissemination.
Presentation materials - To support the presentation of research and development findings by investigators at technical conferences the TT staff maintains a graphic, photographic and video capability that complements that of the on-station Medical Media Service. Working closely with investigators, The TT staff provides both a creative and a technical resource for the design and production of presentation materials, including photographic and computer generated slides, technical poster design and preparation, video data collection and reporting, conference exhibits, and product data sheets. The TT staff designs and produces the Center's exhibit booth for RESNA, the annual rehab engineering conference. In May 1993 the TT section developed papers, posters and presentation materials for a Center open house and building dedication.
Public relations media - Working with the Medical Center public relations office, the TT section collects and prepares information about the Rehab R&D Center for distribution to the press and media. The TT staff also fields inquiries from the press, both foreign and domestic, regarding Center activities and products. It is primarily responsible for presenting the Center's mission and accomplishments to veterans service organizations and other broad beneficiaries of the Center's work as well as potential manufacturers and the general public.
Recently the TT section sponsored a nationwide marketing plan competition for students in graduate schools of business. This competition is seen as a way of publicizing the work of the Center as well as eliciting potential market research and strategies for devices and technologies developed at the Center.
Republished from the 1994 Rehabilitation R&D Center Progress Report.
