Ethics Case Studies in Biodesign

Case 18 - Report on Your Team Assignment

You are working on a deadline for a solution to your current ‘unmet medical need’. Your part of the team assignment is to do a USPTO search for solutions, especially those using ultrasound as the source of the energy applied for your potential device. Over the weekend, your best friend from undergraduate school surprises you with a drop-in visit. You want to be with her but you need to spend the time on your team assignment. You manage to squeeze a little time to start the USPTO search but you have little to show for your weekend in that regard. Your team meets on Monday morning to review the status of the project and chart the next steps in the process.

• Do you tell the team what you have learned from the search you performed?
• How confident are you about the information you present?
• What do you say to your team about your data?
• What is your response to the reaction of the team to your information?