Innovation

Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought ~ Albert Einstein

No combination has such volatile innovative potential as that which ignites when expertise from disparate disciplines collides.

As an example, what do cartography and mammography have to do with one another? The former influenced improvements in the latter.

Here's the story. A company set out to build image analysis software that would help interpret aerial cartography. However, its first commercial use may be an enhancement to mammography analysis.

How did this happen? As reported on the website MedGadget, it turns out that to a NASA scientist the lakes of northern Wisconsin look very much like dense breast tissue. You can see the similarity for yourself by following the link.

Have you participated in projects that were so tightly controlled that unexpected collateral innovations were overlooked? Do your project teams practice the inclusion of diverse expertise to catalyze innovation?

Innovation Needs a Lingua Franca

Technology Used for Find Distant Galaxies Adapted to Detect AMD

NASA Technology Could Aid in Interpretation of Mammograms, Ultrasound, Other Medical Imagery

How AIG Moved Toward Evidence-Based Decision Making

How The Mayo Clinic Invests in its Next Century of Innovation

Astronomy Algorithms Unleashed on Breast Cancer Immunohistochemistry Images

Don't Let What You Know Limit What You Imagine

The Most Valuable People in Your Network

The Creative Person’s Guide to Focus, Part 1: A Little Distraction is a Good Thing

A Game Plan for Game Changers

Science's burden: storing terabytes of research data for decades

How This Man Led IBM's Watson Team to Innovate