There may be a Thomas Edison lurking in you - and plenty of companies are banking on it.
You might think that the buyers of magnetic resonance imaging machines (with price tags starting in the seven figures) wouldn't think of tinkering with such expensive instruments. Guess again. Several hundred purchasers of the MRI machines produced by GE Healthcare bought the machines with every intention of modifying them, says Michael Wood, general manager of research collaboration with GE's global magnetic resonance business in Waukesha, Wisconsin. "They almost throw away the instruction book."

Think GE is shocked by this? Wrong again. GE actually encourages its buyers to alter the machines. In fact, the company negotiates agreements with many users to allow them some access to the imaging software.

James Pipe, PhD, a senior staff scientist at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, modified the machine's software to change the way in which the machine collects images. Previously, even slight movement - say, a cough - could blur the images and make it difficult for doctors to diagnose a patient's condition. Now, the machine generates clean, clear images even when a patient moves.

"We go out of our way to find ideas like that," Wood says.

The MRI tinkerers are hardly alone, and businesses couldn't be happier. A growing number of leading-edge companies are inviting the users of their products to participate in their product-development efforts. The process is known as "lead-user innovation," says Eric von Hippel, head of the innovation and entrepreneurship group at MIT's Sloan School of Management and author of Democratizing Innovation. While no firm statistics are available, von Hippel has seen a marked increase in the trend, in industries ranging from semiconductor design to ­electronic-game creation.