How NeedSignal works — for submitters, reviewers, managers, and expert groups.
NeedSignal is a platform for collecting, reviewing, validating, and prioritizing unmet clinical needs in orthopedic surgery. It connects surgeons and healthcare professionals with the AO Technical Commission's review and innovation process.
Every need goes through a structured workflow: submission → expert review → validation scoring → prioritization. The result is a ranked database of clinical needs that guides innovation decisions.
Anyone can submit a clinical need — no login required. You can describe a need you encounter in your practice and the system will structure it for review.
Your need enters the review queue. A TC manager will assign it to one or more expert reviewers. If additional information is needed, you'll receive an email with a link to update your submission.
Reviewers are expert surgeons invited by the TC manager to evaluate specific clinical needs. You'll receive an email invitation with a sign-in link — no password required.
Your sign-in link works on any device. You'll stay logged in for 7 days. For a new device, simply request a new sign-in link at needsignal.health/login.
Managers oversee the full workflow — from receiving submissions to assigning reviewers and moving needs through the process.
received → in review → scoring → complete. Needs can also be rejected or put on hold with info requested at any stage.
Expert groups provide the scoring that determines a need's priority. When a need is accepted by reviewers, the TC manager assigns it to an expert group for evaluation.
The four dimensions are weighted and combined into a priority score from 0 to 100. Scores above 70 indicate high priority needs; 40–70 medium priority; below 40 lower priority. The formula is: Incidence (30%) + Severity (30%) + Existing Solutions (20%) + Generality (20%).
All data is stored in Switzerland (Zurich) on Supabase infrastructure. Row-level security ensures each organization's data is fully isolated. Authentication uses passwordless magic links — no passwords are stored.
The platform is independent of the Microsoft ecosystem — no Azure, no SharePoint, no Teams dependencies. Access is controlled at the database level, not just the application level.