Ground-breaking new surgical technology has taken a step closer to reality, thanks to a new partnership.

Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) has teamed up with Canadian based Titan Medical (titanmedicalinc.com) to develop an innovative robotic surgery system. They aim to offer minimally invasive surgery (MIS) through a single incision, rather than several incisions, which is currently the case with both traditional laparoscopic surgery and existing multi-port robotic systems.

The innovative “single-port” robotic surgery system should offer swifter recovery time and less scarring for patients, in addition to better access to narrow spaces for surgeons.

“We are delighted to be working with Titan Medical on this important project,” says CDP partner Jez Clements. “It’s an exciting technology and one we are proud to be involved with.”

Technology and product innovation company CDP first started working with Titan Medical on its robotic surgery system in 2019. The collaboration has been so effective that the two companies have announced an ongoing working partnership for the project.

“We are pleased to announce our expanded collaboration with Cambridge Design Partnership,” says David McNally, President and CEO of Titan. “Since engaging with them only a few months ago, their highly qualified engineers have rapidly driven innovation and delivered significant performance improvements.”

The two companies are now working together on the single-port robotic surgical system towards a submission for FDA approval in the US.

“This technology will mean less invasive procedures for patients, offering improved recovery and less trauma,” explains Hans Pflaumer, senior mechanical engineer at CDP. “However, for a surgeon to achieve a good result with just a single small incision creates all sorts of technical and design challenges, which we have worked intensively to overcome. In the Titan robot, this is accomplished using a single 25mm port which is used to pass a 2D camera, a 3D camera and the multi-articulating instruments into the surgical site.”

CDP has its HQ in Cambridge in the UK but also has a base in Raleigh, North Carolina to better serve our clients in the US. “It has been advantageous for our team to be able to work on this project in both the US and UK time zones, effectively giving us a fifteen-hour working day,” says Hans. “As a consequence, we have been able to deliver significant design improvements in a short space of time.”

Titan’s robotic surgery technology contains a large amount of intellectual property (IP), with 47 issued and 87 pending patents on individual elements within the system. “It is a very valuable portfolio,” says senior mechanical engineer Aki Laakso. “We want to make sure Titan is maximising the impact of their IP.

“We are working on surgical instruments with multiple functions, including cutting, suturing and cauterising. We need to make all these processes as robust and stable as possible for the surgeon, while offering the best possible workspace within the patient.”

The project plays to CDP’s skills in terms of electromechanical medical device design, says CDP partner Jez Clements: “Much of the focus with Titan has been on achieving milestones in a very swift, performance-based collaboration. Titan needed results and we have been able to provide smart design decisions in a short timeframe, thanks to our skilled team and fast-paced work ethos.”

Using a multi-continental work cycle in both CDP’s UK and US bases, the team has made fast progress to overcome design challenges. “Our wealth of experience working on ISO 13485 and FDA medical device approvals stood us in good stead to work with Titan on this project,” says Jez Clements. “It’s a design-critical build which will ultimately revolutionise minimally invasive surgery. In addition, we have been able to maximise value and look at reducing costs within the design, which will help its launch onto the market.

“Ultimately, we are aiming for surgeons to use this equipment with complete confidence in the operating theatre. The market is ready for this innovation and it will undoubtedly bring huge benefits to patients in the future.”

Cambridge Design Partnership is recognised as one of the top three agencies in Europe and the Americas for design innovation, according to the Red Dot awards programme.

Red Dot has become established internationally as one of the most sought-after seals of quality for good design. They organise annual competitions looking to applaud the best in product design, globally.

This year Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) came third in the ranking for design firms that continuously and progressively, produce cutting edge and forward-thinking product concepts.

“We are absolutely delighted with the news,” says Mike Cane, founding partner of CDP. “To have this sort of accolade on a global stage is really gratifying. It’s a testament to the hard work and creativity of our whole team.”

In presenting the award, Ken Koo, President of the Red Dot Award in Asia congratulated CDP and stated that the ranking recognised CDP’s continued investment in design and was a “vigorous reflection of real and sustainable design innovation capability”.

CDP was founded 23 years ago and has grown rapidly offering customer focussed technology and design innovation. Capabilities start with front end research, strategy and design, and include mechanical, electronics and software engineering as well as manufacturing and quality management. They work for market leading companies in healthcare, consumer technology and energy in Europe and US.

CDP innovations which have won coveted Red Dot Awards in recent years include the First Response Monitor, a wearable connected device which measures and broadcasts patients’ vital signs for instant analysis by medics in emergencies. Another is Klarus, a drug delivery system aimed at patients with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, which necessitates regular self-injection with medication.

Red Dot Design Raking

Innovation leaders from technology and product design firm Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) have just returned from a week-long trip to China where they were invited to share their expertise in using breakthrough technology to tackle real-life issues.

They were in Shanghai for the inauguration of the Shanghai International Energy Innovation Centre and to launch a report on open innovation in collaboration with non-profit organisation SHEnergy and Professor Alan Barrell, entrepreneur in residence at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning in Cambridge.

“In China there is no shortage of advanced technology – however, in order to really impact their bottom line and improve people’s lives, it requires an application that is based on real needs and problems worth solving,” said Cesar Lastra, consumer insight and innovation leader at CDP. “The message they were able to take away from us – and that we hope to continue to develop with them – is that true innovation happens at the intersection of consumers, technology and business.

“We also addressed the somewhat misunderstood topic of intellectual property (IP) and the perceived copycat effect in China. Part of what we do at CDP when exploring commercial opportunities and innovation strategies is to conduct IP landscaping and technology road mapping up front – before going down the path of extensive product development. That way we can reassure our clients that we are co-developing viable, protectable technology and designs from initial prototype through to launch and beyond.”

21 May 2018 – Technology and product design firm Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) has become a fully employee-owned company as it embarks on the next stage of its evolution and growth. An employee ownership trust has been set up to hold the company’s shares on behalf of its staff.

“We believe this is a great opportunity for CDP to accelerate our mission to become a world-leading innovator, with the company’s most important asset – its staff – at the centre of our strategy,” said CDP founding partners Mike Cane, Mike Beadman and Matt Schumann. “It means we can continue to grow without the involvement of external shareholders, so we can maintain full control over the direction of the business and our creative culture.”

The CDP leadership team of 10 partners will continue to manage the company and the staff will have a say in the company’s future through an elected employee council. As an employee-owned company, CDP joins the ranks of organisations such as John Lewis, which is probably the most well-known – and the UK’s largest – employee-owned business.

“We have been very successful as an owner-managed company but we believe that – to achieve our ambitious goals – we need a structure that is not only scalable but ensures our talented staff have a direct stake in the success of the business,” said Mike Cane. “Following a major strategy review last year, we realised that our team wanted to be more directly involved in the CDP story – so we decided to break away from the standard company structure.”

Earlier this year, CDP was named one of the top companies in the world-leading Cambridge technology cluster – winning the high growth award in the Cambridge News Business Excellence Awards 2018. Since it was founded by three engineers 22 years ago, the company has grown to around 120 scientists, engineers, researchers and designers in Toft near Cambridge, UK, and Palo Alto in California, US.

“Employee ownership through an employee ownership trust provides us with a stable and equitable structure that has the flexibility to scale and adapt to whatever the future brings,” said Mike Beadman. “It neatly gets around many of the unintended consequences that come with other employee ownership models. It is fundamentally more democratic and inclusive – values that resonate with the CDP creative culture.”

Over the last three years, CDP has expanded its capabilities significantly to make it a ‘one-stop shop’ for businesses in the healthcare and consumer sectors that need to innovate and launch their next-generation products quickly. While its strength has traditionally been in technology and engineering design, it now also has strong teams working at the front end of innovation – helping clients optimise their innovation plans – and at the back end, where its manufacturing engineering group sets up new processes and multinational supply chains.

“Partnership has always been in our name – and now it means even more,” said Matt Schumann. “Every member of staff, in every interaction with our customers, will be fully invested in the success of their project. Working together, with our goals aligned, we believe is the best environment for innovation to occur.”

Notes for editors

Cambridge Design Partnership is a technology and product design partner focused on helping clients grow their businesses. Some of the world’s largest companies trust CDP to develop their most important innovations. Located in both Cambridge (UK) and in Palo Alto, California (US), CDP specialises in the consumer products, healthcare, energy and industrial equipment markets. Its multidisciplinary staff have the expert knowledge to identify opportunities and tackle the challenges its clients face. For more information, visit: www.cambridge-design.co.uk

For further information, contact the marketing team:
+44 (0)1223 264428
marketing@cambridge-design.co.uk

Technology and product design firm Cambridge Design Partnership (CDP) has been named one of the top companies in the world-leading Cambridge technology cluster. It has won the high growth award in the Cambridge News Business Excellence Awards 2018.

The judges heard how the company – founded by three engineers more than 20 years ago – has now grown to around 120 researchers, designers, scientists and engineers. In the last financial year, sales increased by more than 35% – with particular growth in US sales – and the firm has an increasing number of loyal clients who choose it as their innovation partner year after year.

Over the last three years, CDP has expanded its capabilities significantly to make it a ‘one-stop shop’ for businesses that need to innovate and launch their next-generation products quickly. While its strength has traditionally been in engineering development and product design, it now also has strong teams working at the front end of innovation – helping clients optimise their innovation plans – and at the back end, where its manufacturing engineering group sets up new processes and multinational supply chains.

The company undertakes fast-track, customer-focused innovation programmes using its proven ‘Potential Realised’ framework to optimise the return on clients’ investment in innovation.

CDP founder Mike Cane said: “Our success is the result of a lot of hard work and commitment from our talented team and loyal clients – and winning this title is a fitting recognition of their achievements.

“Our clients range from small, innovative start-ups to giant multinational organisations. And our product developments range from connected medical devices and diagnostic equipment to consumer products and manufacturing solutions. But, at the end of the day, we believe product development is all about people.

“What sets us apart is our focus on the user – we work on the basis of ‘market pull’ rather than the usual ‘technology push’. We never lose sight of the fact that products are for customers – the technology is only there to make something do what it’s supposed to do at the right cost. We work from the customer’s perspective. Our aim is to significantly improve people’s lives through innovation.”