Illustrative example from the paper of how the same type of innovation can be approached from the perspective of conventional and unconventional thinking. This example illustrates a comparison between unconventional (top, Pat. App. No. 11/156177) and conventional (bottom, Pat. App. No. 11/367461) inventions, both having the same focal CPC code. It highlights the combined CPC codes and summarizes the invention titles and code description. Network diagrams in the center display combinations of categories in each invention, with proximity indicating commonality and distance indicating rarity. The top network depicts the highly cited unconventional invention “Method and apparatus for health and disease management combining patient data monitoring with wireless internet connectivity,” linking rare pairwise combinations of CPC codes H04N, G08B, and H04Q with focal code A61B. The bottom network depicts the conventional invention “X-ray computed tomographic apparatus, image processing apparatus, and image processing method,” using frequent pairwise combinations of CPC codes G21K, G01N, and H05G with focal code A61B. The table quantifies unconventionality, showing relationships ranging from highly unconventional (positive, green) to conventional (negative, red).
"The institutional dynamics of inequality for women inventors who break with conventional thinking"
The gender innovation gap, where women's inventions are less likely to be patented or pursued, raises concerns about the potential slowing of scientific progress.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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