“Flops?!” Exhibition at the Musée des Arts et Métiers: When Innovation Questions Clinical Benefit

April 2026 – Paris, Musée des Arts et Métiers

I visited the “Flops?!” exhibition at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. The final section, titled “Failing Better to Innovate”, featured innovations that have not yet found their market including a thermal boxer designed for male contraception, potentially qualifiable as a medical device. The associated message: innovating is not just about proposing something new. It is also about knowing how to adapt it through real-world use and building a lasting relationship with those who use the product.

It took me directly back to situations I have supported in medical device development projects. At the start of a mission, I had systematically asked project developers three questions: what is the expected clinical benefit and how are you going to measure it? Is your business model viable given manufacturing constraints and competitive positioning? Have you planned design milestones to verify, throughout development, that your product truly meets the needs of those who will use it?

What I took away from this exhibition: an innovation that does not adapt to real-world use risks remaining a prototype, however ingenious it may be. In my work, I use regulatory requirements in exactly this spirit: as a tool to challenge a project from the outset, ask the right questions at the right moment, and reduce the risk of misalignment with patients’ real needs before it is too late.

References:

• Dejean S. Top or Flop? Is it possible to innovate without failing? LinkedIn, July 2026. [En ligne]. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/top-or-flop-dejean.
• Musées des Arts et Métiers. Flops ?! [Online]. Available at: https://www.arts-et-metiers.net/musee/flops [accessed July 2026].
• © One Health Compliance, 2026 – Photo taken at the ‘Flops?!’ exhibition at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris.