This book draws on medical sociology and science and technology studies to develop a novel
conceptual framework for understanding innovation processes using the case study of deep brain
stimulation in paediatric neurology. It addresses key questions including: How are promising
and potentially disruptive new health technologies integrated into busy resource-constrained
clinical contexts? What activities are involved in establishing a new clinical service? How do
social and cultural forces shape these services and importantly how are understandings of
'health' and 'illness' reconfigured in the process? The book explores how the ideals of
patient-centred medicine influence innovation in the clinic and it introduces the concept of
patient-centred proto-platforms. It argues that patient-centred innovation can constitute an
expansion of medical power as the clinical gaze is directed not only towards the body but also
towards the patient as a social being. This will be an innovative and insightful read for
academics and advanced students as well as health service researchers with an interest in
technology adoption processes.
