BackTable Innovation: Recent Episodes
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The Backtable Innovation Podcast brings you the stories from physician entrepreneurs and founders who are helping to drive healthcare forward through med tech innovation. Listen on BackTable.com or on the streaming platform of your choice. You can also visit www.BackTable.com to browse our open access, physician-catered knowledge center.
In this episode, Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews Dr. David Grew, the creator of PRIMR. PRIMR is an online video library that serves the dual purpose of aiding patients in comprehending their cancer diagnosis and treatment choices while also assisting clinical research teams in enhancing their trials with IRB-approved digital content.
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David is a radiation oncologist at St. Francis Hospital, a Yale-affiliated cancer center in Hartford, Connecticut. Five years into his practice, he noticed that due to the COVID pandemic, patients were attending their initial consultations alone. To enhance patient understanding, he started drawing illustrations to simplify complex cases. Patients appreciated these drawings and wanted to share them with their families. David seized this opportunity to create a library of narrated whiteboard videos, which he shared with patients to facilitate communication with their loved ones.
David initially shared this platform with fellow clinicians, but they struggled to find the time to create content or share links with their patients, leading to underutilization. However, during a conversation with a researcher friend, he recognized the platform's potential to convert a lengthy 40-page informed consent form into a concise two-minute video for patients participating in clinical trials. As he leveraged this model, his business grew significantly and expanded to become a multidisciplinary international team. With his team, he curated a platform aimed at helping interested patients to learn more about treatment options through a library of IRB-approved content for clinical trials.
Towards the end of their discussion, the hosts delve into the advantages and drawbacks of being a clinician-entrepreneur. They explore topics such as facing the fear of failure, enjoying a creative outlet, achieving a better work-life balance, and fostering a stronger connection with their medical specialty.
RESOURCES
PRIMR: https://www.primrmed.com/
Dr. Grew’s Twitter: @DoctorGrew
PRIMR Twitter: @PRIMR_MED
In this episode, host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews Rishi Nayyar, co-founder and CEO of PocketHealth, the first patient-centered medical image exchange platform.
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PocketHealth is a subscription-based image sharing service that allows patients to store, access, and share their medical imaging with providers across different health systems. Rishi and his brother Harsh developed the idea for this service after realizing how antiquated and frustrating it was for patients to physically carry their CDs to different physician offices. Additionally, with the sheer volume of medical images ordered today and the cost of data storage, hospitals usually delete images after a certain period of time. First, the Nayyar brothers conducted their own market research by calling hundreds of local hospitals and clinics and asking them about their image exchange process. This process confirmed that the status quo of image exchange was a burdensome process for patients and inspired them to configure a patient-centered service.
The second stage of their entrepreneurial pursuit was to figure out how the service would be paid for. The founders realized that patients were willing to pay a small subscription fee (instead of paying for CDs) to safely indefinitely store and virtually send their own and their family members’ images to healthcare providers using a link or QR code. Overtime, insurance companies have become willing to reimburse this subscription fee. This payment model allows hospitals and clinics to participate in image exchange at no cost, and has been a key factor in encouraging widespread adoption as well as enabling the growth of their enterprise image sharing business.
Rishi highlights the fact that he had the advantage of being an outsider to healthcare when he first started the company, which helped him recognize issues with the current system instead of just accepting the standard processes. He shared the same perspectives as patients who were interacting with the system as non-health experts. PocketHealth’s success in the last eight years has propelled it to take on new challenges, such as patient education within radiology reports.
Finally, Rishi gives advice to budding entrepreneurs. He encourages them to pick a problem that they don’t mind grinding at, since there is a large initial time and effort requirement needed to convince people to adopt their product. Additionally, the innovation journey is long, so to manage one’s psyche, it is wise to set short term achievable benchmarks and reflect on day-to-day progress.
RESOURCES
PocketHealth: https://www.pockethealth.com/
In this crossover episode between BackTable VI and BackTable Innovation, Dr. Chris Beck interviews Dr. Riad Salem (Chief of Interventional Radiology at Northwestern University) and Peter Pattison (President of Interventional Oncology at Boston Scientific) about how TheraSpheres for Y90 radioembolization became a mainstay in the IR toolkit for HCC and where the technology is heading next.
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To begin, Peter outlines how the original concept of TheraSpheres began at the University of Missouri, as a collaboration between Drs. Delbert Day and Gary Ehrhardt, who combined their ceramic and nuclear chemistry expertises to create radioactive glass beads and published a paper in 1987. After animal and human testing, the product was licensed to the company Nordion, where Peter worked. The product was given a humanitarian device exemption (HDE) from the FDA, which allowed TheraSpheres to be used for investigational purposes.
In the late 1990s, Dr. Salem was in his early interventional oncology career and heard about TheraSpheres. He recognized the enormous potential that this technology had to ensure known amounts of radioactive doses were delivered to the tumor and minimize adverse effects. In fact, he noticed that his Y90 patients had less pain, post-embolization syndrome, and hospitalization than his transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) patients. In the mid 2000s, he collected and submitted data to various conferences and journals, but he was met with criticism from the IR world, which was more comfortable with TACE, since it was the current standard of care.
In 2011, Nordion decided to run a clinical trial, EPOCH, which eventually showed that the addition of TARE to systemic therapy for colorectal metastases to the liver led to longer progression free survival.
Dr. Riad has focused his efforts on training more IRs on the methodology of Y90, since this was an important step to increasing adoption and minimizing missteps with the new technology. He believes that the advent of Y90 has resulted in better angiography, since IRs are more cognizant of off-target embolization. Dr. Salem also petitioned at the US Nuclear Regulatory Committee to allow IRs to become the authorized users for Y90 injection and advocated to add TARE to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for liver cancer. Both of these developments allowed TARE to become more widely adopted. Both of our guests highlight the importance of focusing on patient outcomes and letting long term data prove efficacy.
Finally, Peter discusses the competition that TheraSpheres has faced from TACE and SIRSpheres (resin-based radioembolization). He shares exciting new developments that have occurred since acquisition by Boston Scientific. These include exploration for the extra-hepatic use of TheraSpheres in glioblastoma and prostate cancer.
RESOURCES
BackTable Ep. 223- Portal Vein Recan #ReCanDoIt with Dr. Riad Salem: https://www.backtable.com/shows/vi/podcasts/223/portal-vein-recan-recandoit
Therapeutic Use of 90Y Microspheres: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3667306/
A phase I dose escalation trial of yttrium-90 microspheres in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1327493/
Hepatic radioembolization with yttrium-90 containing glass microspheres: preliminary results and clinical follow-up: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7931662/
Humanitarian Device Exemption: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/premarket-submissions-selecting-and-preparing-correct-submission/humanitarian-device-exemption
EPOCH Trial: https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.21.01839
Radioembolization with 90Yttrium Microspheres: A State-of-the-Art Brachytherapy Treatment for Primary and Secondary Liver Malignancies: https://www.jvir.org/article/S1051-0443(07)60901-4/fulltext
In this episode, co-hosts Dr. Aaron Fritts and Dr. Diana Velazquez-Pimentel interview Dr. Elliot Street, co-founder of Inovus Medical, a medtech company whose goal is to revolutionize surgical training through headset-free, accessible augmented reality.
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Dr. Street begins by sharing why he founded Inovus. His mission for the company is to become the world’s partner for surgical training. As a tennis player, he sees many similarities between athletic and surgical training, including the hours of muscle memory development required. He wanted to model surgical training in the way athletes are trained, including game intelligence, practice, gameday, and game tape review.
At Inovus, surgical simulation training is treated as a continuum of needs. The continuum begins with pre-learning, a time when the learner gains surgical intelligence and understands the steps and anatomy of a surgery. For the next step, physical learning, they offer a portfolio of six laparoscopic simulators that can be used from anywhere in the world. They use natural haptics made of simulated soft tissues which they put into boxes that have laparoscopic ports. These can then be used with any laparoscopic device, including cold-cutting instruments and bipolar energy. They have 28 variants of soft tissue which allows surgeons to get exceptional real-life variety. They don’t use headsets for the virtual reality component, but rather a digital surgery platform that can project onto any laptop.
The final two parts of the training continuum include intraoperative decision-making and objective measurement of performance. Inovus has data-capturing technology that allows you to evaluate your performance and use this to improve your approach. Overall, the company wants to deliver on three main objectives: accessibility, natural haptics, and augmented reality. Their technology is available for anyone to buy from their website, though they primarily sell to residency programs and device companies. Dr. Street aims to make Inovus technology a mainstay of surgical training all over the world.
RESOURCES
Inovus Medical: https://inovus.org/about-us
In this episode, guest host Dr. David Canes interviews Dr. Matthew Allaway about PrecisionPoint, his medical device for transperineal prostate biopsy, and his journey towards changing the paradigms of prostate cancer diagnosis.
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Dr. Allaway starts by outlining his path to medicine. The choice to pursue urology was largely influenced by his personal cancer diagnosis. He cites cancer as the greatest lesson in his life, since it brings an enhanced level of empathy to his patient care and inspires him to contribute to the field of urology. Throughout his career, he has always examined his procedures for logical sense – if a process was inefficient, he tried to devise ways to make improvements for patient care.
In 2013, Dr. Allaway decided to switch from the transrectal to transperineal approach for prostate biopsies. With the traditional transrectal approach, he found unacceptably high rates of infection and failure to detect cancers in the anterior prostate region. He started performing transperineal biopsies with a freehand technique, using ultrasound in one hand and a biopsy probe in the other. He built a database of his own patients, which showed an increased cancer detection rate. His technique eventually evolved into the PrecisionPoint transperineal access system. He originally started marketing the device at American Urological Association (AUA) meetings, through booths and video competitions. Although Dr. Allaway works in private practice and not academia, he was able to form connections with institutions and key opinion leaders to encourage adoption of the transperineal approach. PrecisionPoint has been accepted by early adopters, and his team is now working to capture a larger share of the biopsy market. Importantly, they are also marketing the device to patients, since patients can also recognize the safety and diagnostic benefits, and being the ultimate consumers of healthcare, can influence urologists to adopt the device.
Dr. Allaway also gives advice for budding entrepreneurs. He highlights the need to link the device to a specific clinical need, research existing devices, check the your device’s feasibility and pricing strategy, and find good mentors who will allow you to learn from their mistakes. In terms of product marketing, he encourages entrepreneurs to look beyond the United States and explore worldwide markets to increase the chances of product adoption. His confidence in PrecisionPoint grew when he received positive feedback from other urologists about the simple elegance of the device. Finally, Dr. Allaway discusses the importance of truly believing in your product. He says that if you are ashamed of your product’s price, you have priced it wrongly. He encourages entrepreneurs to focus on their product’s benefit to society, rather than profitability.
RESOURCES
Precision Point: https://perineologic.com/precisionpoint/
American Urological Association: https://www.auanet.org/
Zero to One by Peter Thiel: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/0804139296
In this episode, Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews cardiothoracic radiologist Dr. Amit Gupta about his involvement in artificial intelligence (AI), what it takes to build and implement an AI algorithm, and how radiologists can empower themselves to lead the clinical aspects of this revolution.
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Dr. Gupta first became involved in AI as a neuroradiology fellow, mainly with annotating images. Overtime, he fostered good relations with a biomedical engineering team at Case Western. He found that he was able to provide valuable clinical insights for their algorithm development. Dr. Gupta had always loved testing out new technologies, but he realized that he could actually participate in taking science forward and developing artificial intelligence.
We review the basics of AI, starting by defining machine learning, deep learning, and convolutional neural networks. Dr. Gupta speaks about all the steps embedded in an ideal algorithm – it would segment a lesion, integrate clinical information, track past growth, evaluate response criteria, and then ultimately tell you likelihood that a patient will respond to a certain therapy. We also cover radiomics, a subset of AI image analysis that looks beyond what humans can see with naked eye and examines the microenvironment of the image. Dr. Gupta outlines the process of AI algorithm development, which includes definition of a clinical problem, data selection and preparation, annotation, testing, and finally, implementation.
Since it is now more and more common for radiologists to be approached by AI vendors, we discuss important considerations when working with them. Dr. Gupta emphasizes that from the very beginning of the vendor relationship, radiologists need to evaluate whether or not the proposed technology would solve a clinically relevant problem and improve radiology workflow. If not, testing the algorithm may not be worth the time or effort. Just because an algorithm has FDA approval does not mean that it is clinically useful for a certain institution or geographic population of patients and radiologists. Next, the vendor and radiologist must come to an agreement on deliverables and compensation for testing team members. This could take the form of monetary compensation or an in-kind transfer of the software after it is built. Throughout the testing process, it is important to involve the institution’s PACS, IT, and security teams to ensure images are properly de-identified and patients are protected.
Finally, we look at the potential impact that AI has on the diagnostic radiology workflow. Dr. Gupta believes that AI could be rebranded as “assistive technology,” since it would help, rather than replace radiologists. Despite the remarkable capabilities of this technology, it still requires humans to integrate clinical and prior imaging information to make sense of radiographic findings. At Case Western, he fosters a supportive environment for trainees to learn about AI and collaborate with teams that are building the algorithms.
RESOURCES
RSNA Artificial Intelligence Journal: https://pubs.rsna.org/journal/ai
ACR Data Science Institute: https://www.acrdsi.org/
Kaggle: https://www.kaggle.com/
In this episode, Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews Dan Arnold about building MRI Online, a virtual radiology education platform.
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Dan describes his past entrepreneurial experience, starting with the time he built an education marketplace within Google. He saw the potential of online education and the democratizing power that results when people are able to connect to experts via the Internet. Alongside Dr. Stephen Pomeranz, Dan was able to connect this vision with radiology education. He first posted videos and case-based simulations online, and this project evolved into a website, MRI Online. A daily email newsletter served as effective advertising for subscription services. MRI Online content can now be used to fulfill CME credits.
The process of building educational content included collaboration with medical illustrators and audiovisual technicians. The first courses were centered around MRI, and the team launched them at a conference. Afterwards, they recruited faculty from multiple subspecialties to build a comprehensive curriculum covering musculoskeletal, neurological, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and breast imaging. The team had constructed a filming studio, but they were forced to pivot at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They established a free online lecture series through Zoom, which garnered large attendance. From this pool, they were able to recruit an advisory board of radiologists, launch campaigns to find educational cases, and develop a robust content library.
Dan outlines factors that make MRI Online unique from other medical platforms. First, testing is not limited to multiple choice questions. Learners have the opportunity to dictate their own findings and submit recordings for feedback. This offers a more targeted experience. MRIOnline has also collaborated with institutions to incorporate their online content into their fellowship curricula. He ends the interview by discussing the changing landscape of education, noting that people are learning more through mobile devices and pursuing shorter bursts of daily learning.
RESOURCES
MRI Online: https://mrionline.com/
Teachable: https://teachable.com/
Osmosis: https://www.osmosis.org/
BoardVitals: https://www.boardvitals.com/
In this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Aaron Fritts talks with Dr. David Canes, a urologist and founder of WellPrept, a curated patient database that aims to improve and streamline patient education before their clinic visits.
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First, Dr. Canes explains his motivation for starting WellPrept. Because he was always interested in entrepreneurship, he primed himself to look for problems in healthcare. One big problem he noticed that he and his colleagues were experiencing was burnout from explaining the same procedures over and over again to his urology patients. He found himself going through the motions, feeling disconnected from his patients, and not being able to have deeper conversations about their care. This realization motivated him to start sending basic information about procedures and conditions to his patients before their clinic visits. After initial success within his own practice, he decided to create WellPrept, a central hub for patient information from resources curated by individual physicians. Individual physicians or whole departments can pay for a subscription and share information with their own patients. Since its inception, WellPrept has encouraged physicians at a variety of institutions to create their own web pages with trusted content for their patients; some doctors have even created their own videos to explain procedures to patients.
Next, Dr. Canes speaks about the future direction of WellPrept. Although it is growing in popularity within the urologic community, he wants to expand WellPrept to other fields of medicine as well. He is also working on developing a shared library, or packages of crowdfunded patient education that every physician can share with their patients. Additionally, he is working with special societies and other databases to share more already published content through WellPrept, which he views as an effective delivery system.
He also discusses the adversities he has faced, such as reluctance from some colleagues. However, he has found a great start up community via social media platforms like Twitter and mentorship from venture capitalists and other entrepreneurs. Finally, Dr. Canes shares tips for work-life as a physician-entrepreneur.
In this episode, our host Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews emergency medicine physician-entrepreneur Dr. Uli Chettipally about starting Sirica Therapeutics, a novel autism therapy technology that combines virtual reality, machine learning, and physical exercise.
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SHOW NOTES
Dr. Chettipally begins by explaining how his daughter Siri was the original inspiration behind the invention. He had observed that routine physical exercise helped Siri cope with her autism and decreased her levels of anxiety and hyperactivity. As a result, the idea of “Cognitive Sensorimotor Therapy” was born— a treatment that combines appropriate mental and physical challenges in a therapeutic context for patients with autism spectrum disorder.
Today, the Sirica Therapeutics prototype is a combined exercise machine, virtual reality headset, and machine learning software. All of these elements make the user feel as if they are operating a vehicle that is moving through different terrains. The program also responds to user motion and effort in order to identify and address deficiencies. The ultimate goal is to utilize neuroplasticity to enhance both cognitive and motor function. This device is currently in the pre-seed funding round.
Dr. Chettipally shares his vision for this new therapy to be incorporated into clinical practice. Due to initial high costs of production, he expects the device to be first available in clinics where patients are already receiving other forms of therapy for autism. As the technology becomes more widely adopted, costs of production will decrease, making the device more accessible for patients to buy or lease for their own homes. In terms of market size and potential, we discuss the current prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (1/44 births) and the fact that there are few other long-term therapy options for adults.
Finally, we discuss Dr. Chettipally’s other entrepreneurial ventures. He is the founder of InnovatorMD, a company that provides a large online community and educational resources for physician innovators. He is also the author of “Punish the Machine: The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.”
RESOURCES
Sirica Therapeutics Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tSL4o-5cMk
Sirica Therapeutics: https://www.siricatherapeutics.com/
Dr. Uli Chettipally’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulichettipally/
InnovatorMD: https://www.innovatormd.com/
Autism Society of America: https://autismsociety.org/
Ep. 11- Blockchain MD: Healthcare Applications with Dr. Leah Houston: https://www.backtable.com/shows/innovation/podcasts/11/blockchain-md-healthcare-applications
In this episode, Drs. Aaron Fritts and Eric Gantwerker interview Dr. Tamir Wolf, a trauma surgeon and founder of Theator, an artificial intelligence company that links intraoperative decision making with patient outcomes.
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Dr. Wolf describes how his experience as a trauma surgeon with the Navy SEALs shaped his perspective on high acuity situations and surgical guidance. He realized that augmented decision making in trauma settings could help him and others perform better. Additionally, he had experiences with seeing family and coworkers undergoing the same procedure, but with drastically different outcomes due to variability in surgery and clinical management. With these ideas in mind, he started Theator. The company offers a software that seamlessly integrates into existing operating room video technology in minimally invasive robotic and laparoscopic procedures. The technology captures data over decision points and key milestones that have eventual impacts on patient outcomes. The data is then analyzed to find patterns and translated to best practices.
Dr. Wolf hopes that this aggregate of video data from multiple surgeons and institutions can provide evidence-based training for surgeons to operate at a safer level. Dr. Wolf emphasizes that Theator’s overall mission is to increase transparency in the operating room and break out of the traditional surgical apprentice training model. Ideally, trainees who are preparing for surgeries could draw on the experiences of thousands of surgeons in different places. Additionally, hospitals could gain information about their internal processes and address inefficiencies and safety gaps.
We discuss challenges in implementation, such as surgeons’ reluctance to be recorded, competition within the artificial intelligence space, and limitations for implementation in fluoroscopic imaging. Dr. Wolf also outlines Theator’s trajectory and the single most important factor to its success— the company culture. He emphasizes the need to hire competent and trustworthy people who can innovate and self-direct.
RESOURCES
Theator: https://theator.io/
Dr. Tamir Wolf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamirwolf
OR Black Box & Trauma Black Box: https://www.surgicalsafety.com/
Disparities in Access to High-Volume Surgeons Within High-Volume Hospitals for Hysterectomy: https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2021/08000/Disparities_in_Access_to_High_Volume_Surgeons.7.aspx
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention: https://www.amazon.com/No-Rules-Netflix-Culture-Reinvention/dp/1984877860
BackTable Innovation Ep. 7: Improving Access to Stroke Care Using AI with Dr. Chris Mansi: https://www.backtable.com/shows/innovation/podcasts/7/vizai-improving-access-to-stroke-care-using-ai
In this episode, host Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews radiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Vikram Sobti about how he started his own teleradiology practice, his perspective on learning about fields outside of medicine, and his predictions for the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine.
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Dr. Sobti describes the workflow of his current teleradiology practice, Innovative Radiology PC. The company operates in 22 different states and employs 12 radiologists. This collaboration is possible due to a cloud-based PACS system. The radiologists’ efficient same-day throughput and availability for referring doctors makes the company’s services very attractive. Dr. Sobti believes that working from home and having control over one’s own schedule provides net benefits for a radiologist.
With AI playing a growing role in diagnostic radiology, Dr. Sobti is constantly learning about how it can be applied to his own practice and how it will change the landscape of his field. We discuss the differences between AI technology in triage versus diagnosis. In the former category, AI can help with initial detection of emergency cases and assist radiologists in prioritizing these cases. On the other hand, Dr. Sobti suspects that AI-automated diagnoses will not be available for at least 20 years, since there is still lots of development to be done on the technological, legal, and organizational aspects. He describes the process of experimenting with Multus Medical’s AI-generated animations to assist his workflow in spine imaging.
Finally, Dr. Sobti gives advice on investing in personal development and experiences that can help physicians acquire a deeper understanding of where their fields are heading. He highlights different reasons for pursuing higher education in clinical informatics and business. According to his own experiential learning style, the best source of education has been starting and managing multiple healthcare businesses.
RESOURCES
Dr. Vikram Sobti LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vikram-sobti-md-mba-ab0a5568/
Multus Medical: https://www.multusmedical.com/
Aidoc: https://www.aidoc.com/
Viz.ai: https://www.viz.ai/
In this special host episode, Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews the BackTable Innovation co-hosts Eric Gantwerker and Bryan Hartley about their own entrepreneurial journeys, lessons along the way, and what we've learned from our amazing guests thus far. Dr. Gantwerker describes his interest and experiences in gamified learning, and Dr. Hartley shares about his experience in the Stanford Biodesign fellowship. Tune in to hear more about our hosts!
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In this special host episode, our podcast founder Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews BackTable innovation co-hosts Dr. Eric Gantwerker and Dr. Bryan Hartley about their own entrepreneurial journeys, lessons they’ve learned along the way, and how they joined our podcast.
Dr. Gantwerker explains his interest in medical education and gamified learning. He describes his decision to pursue a master’s degree in Medical Education at Harvard Medical School after he finished his pediatric ENT fellowship. In Boston, he was able to learn about game-based learning and the evolving landscape of medical education. Upon graduating his program, he was presented with an opportunity to serve as a subject matter expert consultant for his current company, Level Ex. Though it was a tough choice, he decided to split his time between clinical practice and business development for Level Ex. He currently serves as the company’s Medical Director, a role that allows him to be cross-functional and horizontally integrated in all departments.
Dr. Hartley shares about his interventional radiology background and why he felt a pull towards entrepreneurship and the Stanford Biodesign fellowship. The program’s structure helped him and his teammates identify a clinical need, innovate solutions, and implement a business plan. His experience in the program has culminated in the founding of Pulmera, a device company focused on innovating novel technologies to improve the diagnosis of early stage lung cancer.
All the hosts agree that sufficient clinical experience is key to refining product-market fit. Having subject matter expertise helps physicians develop their ideas and gain confidence in their product. Additionally, building a reputation in their clinical specialty is helpful for fundraising purposes.
Finally, we discuss the difference between formal and informal learning. While the former pathway can help entrepreneurs generate ideas and build networks, the latter pathway is ideal for entrepreneurs who already have product ideas and funding. We highlight former podcast guests who pursued each of these strategies.
RESOURCES
Dr. Eric Gantwerker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drericgant/
Dr. Bryan Hartley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-hartley-md/
Level Ex: https://www.levelex.com/
Pulmera: http://www.pulmera.com/
Brain Lab: https://www.brainlab.com/
Harvard Master’s in Medical Education: https://hms.harvard.edu/education-admissions/masters-degree-programs/master-medical-sciences-medical-education
MATTER Healthcare Incubator: https://matter.health/join?gclid=CjwKCAjw-8qVBhANEiwAfjXLrukkmTXIy_pJ1P2vzZfX0Zy9stxvzXCmQwVO2S7f6ni_Z4wBcarxfxoCN3IQAvD_BwE
Stanford Biodesign Fellowship: https://biodesign.stanford.edu/programs/fellowships/innovation-fellowships.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw-8qVBhANEiwAfjXLrkzkwkOZmT5YZR3095LeS1WUdNHCHQuqwbzLQu7WXz5L3Tc2ZcqtthoCkQ4QAvD_BwE
Biodesign Principles Book: https://www.amazon.com/Biodesign-Process-Innovating-Medical-Technologies/dp/110708735X/ref=asc_df_110708735X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312126345020&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7250507859082880420&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031015&hvtargid=pla-448919250867&psc=1
Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews Aidoc cofounder Elad Walach about launching a company in the artificial intelligence (AI) space and applying AI in radiology imaging.
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In this episode, our host Dr. Aaron Fritts interviews Aidoc founder Elad Walach about launching a company in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, applying AI in radiology imaging, and his vision to build an AI enterprise system for healthcare institutions.
Elad begins by sharing the story of how he met Aidoc cofounders Michael Braginsky and Guy Reiner as roommates when they all served in the Israeli military. All three shared a passion for technology and desired to make a difference in the healthcare sphere. Through brainstorming, they identified a clinical need to process radiology data faster and help radiologists prioritize high risk findings. He emphasizes that the technology is not designed to address a single type of disease. Instead, it is a platform that has received regulatory clearance to detect many different diseases.
When hiring other Aidoc team members, Elad describes his perspective on hiring based on potential, rather than experience. He seeks out “superstars” because he believes in their ability to learn and blossom within the company. Next, Elad recounts the difficult fundraising process that the company faced when AI was not widely known yet. He advises entrepreneurs to think of their company’s story as their “first sell,” and have a commitment to debrief, obtain feedback, and reiterate the pitch after every presentation.
Finally, Elad shares his vision for the future of AI in healthcare. It is crucial that entrepreneurs display professionalism and responsible practices in order for healthcare systems to entrust them with patient data. On the clinical side, radiologists would benefit from AI exposure and education during their official training pathway. Finally, the growing number of AI healthcare companies will help progress the overall field, since each company can be a trailblazer in different areas such as regulatory standards and reimbursements.
RESOURCES
Aidoc: https://www.aidoc.com/
Your Vital Signs, On Camera (Pulse Camera): https://news.mit.edu/2010/pulse-camera-1004
Deep Medicine by Eric Topol: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Medicine-Artificial-Intelligence-Healthcare/dp/1541644638
Play Bigger by Al Ramadan: https://www.amazon.com/Play-Bigger-Dreamers-Innovators-Dominate/dp/0062407619
Radiation oncologist Dr. James Mitchell joins the BackTable Innovation podcast to discuss the development and acquisition of his medical devices; first, an integrated needle/guidewire system called Redsmith, and then a smart vascular access port called Oncodisc.
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In this episode, physician-entrepreneur and radiation oncologist Dr. James Mitchell joins our host Dr. Bryan Hartley to discuss the development and acquisition of his medical devices– first, an integrated needle/guidewire system called Redsmith, and then a smart vascular access port called Oncodisc.
Dr. Mitchell first explains how he met his co-founder, interventional radiologist Andy Thoreson, while they were both practicing medicine at the Keesler Air Force base. They connected due to common interests in business and investing. Eventually, they began to discuss clinical needs that they saw in their everyday lives and potential devices to address them. To protect their medical device ideas, they filed IPs and addressed patents to a company, rather than themselves as individuals. Dr. Mitchell emphasizes that this method is highly favorable when there are multiple inventors of a device, since assigning the patent to a separate entity will prevent legal issues and de-risk the business for future acquirers. When forming a new company, Dr. Mitchell believes that good corporate governance is key. This involves asking fundamental questions about the business goals, location of incorporation, type of corporation, and fundraising strategies. Eventually, Drs. Mitchell and Thoreson launched Redsmith, which was purchased by BD. Due to external factors, the purchase took two years.
Next, the co-founders embarked on a mission to develop Oncodisc, a port that would automatically notify doctors when cancer patients’ physiological signs indicated high risk for sepsis. Dr. Mitchell described a new mindset for this second product– He wanted to build a business out of this technology instead of selling it to a larger company. Taking a product through commercialization would allow him to have more influence over the final product and result in a larger impact on the healthcare system. Additionally, he wanted to explore applications of Oncodisc beyond cancer care, since ports are utilized in many chronic conditions such as end-stage renal disease and congestive heart failure. What started as a simple addition to chemotherapy ports became a larger digital health mission.
Finally, Dr. Mitchell discusses the mechanics of his fundraising process. The seed round mainly included friends and colleagues who were clinicians, since they recognized the utility of Oncodisc. Having this network of investors also allowed the co-founders to obtain clinical advice during R&D. The subsequent Series A round presented different challenges, since Dr. Mitchell was presenting to investors from highly specialized business backgrounds, and little clinical expertise. He had to learn how to address extensive questions over regulatory strategy and effectively communicate his clinical ideas during his pitches. Dr. Mitchell ends the episode by advising entrepreneurs to expand their networks to include people of all different professions and valuable, diverse insights.
RESOURCES
PAVmed: http://www.pavmed.com/
Biomerics: https://biomerics.com/
BD: https://www.bd.com/en-us
HealthTech Capital: https://healthtechcapital.com/
Society of Physician Entrepreneurs: https://sopenet.org/
Innovator MD: https://www.innovatormd.com/
UCSF Rosenman Institute: https://rosenmaninstitute.org/
MedTech Innovator: https://medtechinnovator.org/
Aaron Fritts talks with Dr. Navin Goyal about why he decided to leave clinical practice, co-founded LOUD Capital, and how he's helping physician entrepreneurs flip the script and leverage the underdog mentality to drive ideas and careers forward.
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Dr. Eric Eskioglu, neurosurgeon and Chief Medical Officer of Novant Health, tells us about how his organization stays forward-thinking in artificial intelligence (AI) developments.
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SHOW NOTES
In this episode, our hosts interview Dr. Eric Eskioglu, neurosurgeon and Chief Medical Officer of Novant Health about how his organization stays forward-thinking in artificial intelligence (AI) developments and promising AI healthcare applications of the near future.
Dr. Eskioglu describes his first career in aerospace engineering, which sparked his original interest in AI. He recognized the value of data analytics and how it could be used to plan out future scenarios. After making the shift towards medicine, Dr. Eskioglu found himself being drawn to translational research and neurosurgery.
Today, he describes his role within Novant Health as an interpreter between physicians and administrators, and also a champion of behavioral economics and AI innovation within the health network. He emphasizes that focusing on improving quality and safety measures is the key to gaining organizational and funding support for AI projects. A large focus of Novant Health has been the use of AI to recognize and reduce non-beneficial variations in clinical practice between different providers.
Next, we shift to discussing how AI can be used to equalize healthcare access across different communities. Dr. Eskioglu gives the example of Viz.ai, a stroke detection system that improves diagnosis and response team efficiency, no matter where the patient and medical team are located. (If you’re interested in hearing more about Viz.ai, check out Episode 7, in which we interview its founder, Dr. Chris Mansi!)
Dr. Eskioglu also discusses how AI can help prevent physician burnout. For example, Aidoc is currently using image scrubbing to stratify ER images based on clinical severity, which effectively reduces anxiety and burnout for radiologists. He also mentions how natural language processing that automatically generates progress notes as physicians converse with patients. Furthermore, he speculates that AI will have the largest impact on family medicine, since this field has frequent patient contact and an abundance of patient data collected over time that can be used to glean patterns to guide clinical practice.
RESOURCES
Novant Health: https://www.novanthealth.org/
VIz.ai: https://www.viz.ai/
Aidoc: https://www.aidoc.com/
Nuance Natural Language Processing: https://www.nuance.com/about-us/ai-research.html
SwipeSense: https://www.swipesense.com/
JAMA Article, Physician Practice Pattern Variations in Common Clinical Scenarios Within 5 US Metropolitan Areas: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2788513
American Board of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (ABAIM): https://abaim.org/
Intelligence-Based Medicine by Dr. Anthony Chang: https://www.amazon.com/Intelligence-Based-Medicine-Artificial-Intelligence-Healthcare/dp/012816462X
AI in Health by Tom Lawry: https://www.amazon.com/AI-Health-Leaders-Winning-Intelligent/dp/0367336847
Deep Medicine by Dr. Eric Topol: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Medicine-Artificial-Intelligence-Healthcare/dp/1541644638
To close our BackTable Innovation series on NeuWave, we invited Laura King and Dr. Fred Lee to speak about growing their medical device company through various stages, from Series A funding to acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.
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In this episode, our host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews business leader Laura King and interventional radiologist Dr. Fred Lee about growing their medical device company, NeuWave through various stages, from Series A funding to acquisition by Johnson & Johnson. This is the final installment of a three-part series about the origin, rise, and acquisition of NeuWave.
Ms. King recounts her story of joining NeuWave. While she was originally tasked with performing due diligence on behalf of investors, she found that her values and passions aligned with the company and eventually became NeuWave’s CEO. For her, the key pull factor was the company’s identity as a “platform opportunity,” since the microwave ablation device was initially used in the liver, but could also branch out and be applied to other organs and clinical scenarios. Ms. King speaks about the difference between incremental innovation and disruptive innovation. The former is more common in large established companies, while the latter is characteristic of the startup world. She credits her business knowledge to her history of working with large companies and incremental innovation in her past, which helped her in scaling up NeuWave’s disruptive innovation efforts.
Dr. Lee brings up the importance of values alignment between clinical and business leadership in a startup. He shares conversations that the leaders had regarding patient safety in the first physician uses of the device. Ms. King highlights the need to listen to early adopters and integrate their feedback into improving the product; it is this effective response that will build trust and encourage clinicians to repurchase the device in the future.
Finally, we discuss the acquisition process. Dr. Lee describes how venture capital investors brought not only funds, but more connections to the company. He compares the role of bankers in an acquisition to realtors in a property sale. They are both necessary to the sale of the asset and have experience fielding multiple offers from interested parties.
Throughout the episode, the guests highlight their continued partnership in forming Elucent, a surgical navigation company, using the lessons learned from NeuWave.
RESOURCES
Elucent Medical https://elucentmedical.com/
NeuWave Microablation System: https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/product-family/neuwave-microwave-ablation-systems
Venture Investors: https://ventureinvestors.com/
We talk with electrical engineering professor Dr. Dan van der Weide and interventional radiologist Dr. Fred Lee about the lessons they learned in the early stages of founding their microwave ablation device company, including challenges with early teams and equity.
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SHOW NOTES
In this episode, our host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews electrical engineering professor Dr. Dan van der Weide and interventional radiologist Dr. Fred Lee about the lessons they learned in the early stages of founding their microwave ablation device company, including challenges with early teams and equity. This is the second installment of a three-part series about the origin, rise, and acquisition of NeuWave.
The founders start by discussing the nature of their successful partnership and how each of them brought complementary perspectives to the company. On one hand, Dr. Lee has clinical experience that informs him about current medical devices and their limitations. Conversely, Dr. van der Weide has a broad-based understanding of energy and how it can be applied to medicine. Even after the acquisition of NeuWave, the two founders have continued to innovate and start subsequent new companies together.
While the founders shared a common vision, they had early NeuWave experiences which taught them about team conflict. They share a salient lesson learned from hiring team members based on prior social connections instead of objective skill sets. Dr. Van der Weide warns against taking mental shortcuts and making assumptions about a person’s abilities, without first examining their experience in the startup world. He also gives advice on equity apportionment, saying that vesting schedules should be based on clear milestones, instead of a pre-set percentage.
Finally, we discuss NeuWave’s early venture capital funding and the importance of choosing an investor that understands the vision and is willing to dedicate their honest effort to helping when obstacles arise.
Stay tuned for the third installment!
RESOURCES
Elucent Medical: https://elucentmedical.com/
NeuWave Microablation System: https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/product-family/neuwave-microwave-ablation-systems
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF): https://www.warf.org/
Venture Investors: https://ventureinvestors.com/
The first episode of 3-part series on the origin, rise, and acquisition of NeuWave Medical, Inc., a medical device company focused on microwave ablation. In this first installment, we interview co-founder Dr. Fred Lee about his vision for starting the company. Dr. Lee takes us through his family history that shaped his identity as an innovator. His father was involved in the development of cryoablation as a treatment for prostate cancer, which inspired him to find applications for ablation in other types of cancer.
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In this episode, our host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews interventional radiologist and medical device innovator Dr. Fred Lee about his advancements in percutaneous radiofrequency ablation and microwave ablation, as well as the founding of his company NeuWave. This is the first installment of a three-part series about the origin, rise, and acquisition of NeuWave.
Dr. Lee starts by describing how his family history shaped his clinical and research interests. His father was involved in the development of cryoablation as a treatment for prostate cancer, which inspired him to find applications for ablation in other types of cancer. Dr. Lee recognized the inefficiencies in early radiofrequency ablation probes – they needed to be periodically turned off to prevent overheating. Along with the University of Wisconsin Engineering Department, he developed electronic switches that could turn a probe off and power another one in order to maximize efficiency during the procedure. Dr. Lee also describes the tech transfer and licensing of the product, noting lessons that he learned about intellectual property along the way.
Next, Dr. Lee recounts a chance encounter with Dr. Dan Van der Weide, his future co-founder. Along with their graduate students, this team built a microwave ablation probe and decided to found a company instead of licensing the product. Dr. Lee advises budding physician-entrepreneurs to invest in finding and retaining team members that can fill in their skill gaps. He also encourages innovators to have the vision to look for areas for improvement in clinical practice, even when the status quo seems like it is sufficient.
Stay tuned for the second and third installments!
RESOURCES
NeuWave Microablation System: https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/product-family/neuwave-microwave-ablation-systems
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF): https://www.warf.org/
We talk with interventional cardiologist Dr. Gary Ansel about his career in medical device innovation, including the development of the Ansel Guiding Sheath and the Pounce Thrombectomy System (which was recently acquired by Surmodics, Inc.).
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SHOW NOTES
In this episode, our host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews interventional cardiologist Dr. Gary Ansel about his career in medical device innovation, including the development of the Ansel Guiding Sheath and the Pounce Thrombectomy System (which was recently acquired by Surmodics).
Dr. Ansel describes his early career and how he identified a clinical need within the realm of renal stenting. His collaboration with Cook Medical evolved into a guiding sheath that has now become widely popular. Dr. Ansel stresses the importance of ensuring that a device has a value proposition for all stakeholders– patients, doctors, hospitals, and payers. The added cost of a new device must provide overall benefits to the procedure.
Next, we discuss Dr. Ansel’s development of a percutaneous thrombectomy system over the course of twelve years, multiple patent applications, and various obstacles. Throughout this process, Dr. Ansel highlights the benefits of having the expertise of a knowledgeable business team. He also tells new entrepreneurs to focus on de-risking their ideas with patents and early sales, in order to make their offerings more attractive to potential investors and acquirers.
RESOURCES
Ansel Guiding Sheath: https://www.cookmedical.com/products/dfdfc483-b37b-49f2-8a78-937bf16ae831/
Pounce Thrombectomy System: https://pouncesystem.com/
We talk with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Justin Barad about how virtual reality (VR) can address gaps in surgical education. Dr. Barad also shares the story of how he started Osso VR, a surgical training and assessment platform.
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In this episode, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Justin Barad and our host Dr. Eric Gantwerker discuss how virtual reality (VR) can address gaps in surgical education and Dr. Barad’s journey of starting Osso VR, a surgical training and assessment platform.
Dr. Barad starts by acknowledging that there is a misconception that VR is trying to replace traditional surgical training. He emphasizes that VR can supplement surgical education because it provides trainees with methods of objective assessment and increased opportunities to practice. In order to encourage adoption of this new technology, Dr. Barad cites the importance of finding common goals for better patient care and showing respect for previous systems of education.
The story of Osso VR started from a recognized need for more breadth and volume of cases in surgical residencies. Dr. Barad highlights the inefficient nature of waiting for random chance to bring different types of cases to arrive in the operating room, as opposed to practicing on a wide variety of cases through VR. He emphasizes that high accessibility of VR is more important than trying to achieve extreme fidelity in replicating surgical instruments.
Finally, we discuss how surgery requires more cognitive skills than ever before, and how VR can help train surgeons to form plans, make decisions, and manage teams.
RESOURCES
Osso VR: https://www.ossovr.com/
Video games and surgical ability: a literature review: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20630431/
“The Hard Thing About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205
Neuroradiologist and AI champion Dr. Suzanne Bash and host Dr. Eric Gantwerker discuss the present and future applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical imaging.
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In this episode, neuroradiologist and AI champion Dr. Suzanne Bash and host Dr. Eric Gantwerker discuss the present and future applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in medical imaging.
Dr. Bash defines AI as a way to utilize computers to enhance human thinking. The ultimate goal is to use this technology to achieve better outcomes for clinical efficiency and quality of patient care. While AI technology has played a role in radiology for the past 15 years, its use has exploded in recent years.
Dr. Bash describes her current role at RadNet, a large US-based outpatient imaging enterprise. She is interested in conducting clinical validation trials and evaluating product fit with her company's imaging facilities. Additionally, she serves as a clinical advisor to multiple AI companies.
We cover a variety of AI applications in medical imaging, including triage, stroke detection, and cancer screenings. Dr. Bash gives us examples of companies and products that are at the forefront of each mission. She encourages all AI companies to stay in touch with clinicians to determine the clinical applicability of their products. One major factor to consider is how a product can be integrated with a radiologist’s workflow. Successful products will save the radiologist time, while adding value to their clinical decision-making. We also cover the challenges that the AI industry faces, such as FDA regulation and the question of legal liability when technology makes mistakes.
Finally, Dr. Bash gives advice about entering the AI space, as well as the case for accepting and adapting to AI technology. She tells clinicians to find opportunities to learn from colleagues and experts and envision the types of products that will be useful in their particular clinical setting.
RESOURCES
RadNet: https://www.radnet.com/
Viz.ai: https://www.viz.ai/
Deep Medicine: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Medicine-Artificial-Intelligence-Healthcare/dp/1541644638
Radiological Society of North America (RSNA): https://www.rsna.org/
In this episode, medical education entrepreneur Shiv Gaglani and I discuss the founding, journey, and acquisition of Osmosis, a leading medical education platform.
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Shiv shares the impetus behind Osmosis: He and classmate/co-founder Ryan Haynes were medical students at Johns Hopkins, and they wanted to find an efficient way to study high-yield topics for their exams. What started as a text-based question bank for classmates evolved into an app and a video learning platform that millions of healthcare students use today. The co-founders took a leave of absence from medical school to dedicate energy towards building up Osmosis into the comprehensive platform that it is today.
His advice? "Medicine is not always the most forward-looking field. Don't be discouraged by the masses who are not ready for your product. Find your true fans and keep focusing on improving your content."
In this episode Dr. Eric Gantwerker talks with Dr. Steve Goudy about the importance of finding and thoroughly researching pain points for patients and their families, to then drive innovative solutions.
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In this episode, interventional radiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Sandeep Bagla joins our host Dr. Aaron Fritts to discuss the founding and multispecialty focus of Prostate Centers USA, a rapidly expanding network of office based labs (OBLs).
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In this episode, interventional radiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Sandeep Bagla joins our host Dr. Aaron Fritts to discuss the founding and multispecialty focus of Prostate Centers USA, a rapidly expanding network of office based labs (OBLs).
Dr. Bagla describes why he decided to shift away from his former private practice and embark on a new venture that would eventually become Prostate Centers USA. Dr. Bagla sought to focus on embolization, a novel area of interventional radiology. He recounts the process of conducting prostate artery embolization clinical trials in a private practice environment, including challenges encountered and lessons learned about changing FDA regulations.
Dr. Bagla developed Prostate Centers USA from a vision of collaboration with urologists to provide comprehensive procedural and clinical care. He describes how he pitched his collaborative approach to urologists and how he dealt with pushback. He also describes why the centers’ ownership structures and focused training pathways are attractive to physicians. Finally, Dr. Bagla highlights technologies that allow for ease of communication between the team members, such as task management systems and centralized monitoring systems.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Ep. 164- Collaborative Approach to Prostate Artery Embolization (PAE) for BPH: https://www.backtable.com/shows/vi/podcasts/164/collaborative-approach-to-prostate-artery-embolization-pae-for-bph
Prostate Centers USA: https://www.prostatecentersusa.com/
Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society (OEIS) Annual Meeting: https://oeisociety.com/
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In this episode, pediatric airway surgeon Dr. Michael Rutter and our host Dr. Eric Gantwerker discuss risk-taking and effective market analysis in entrepreneurship.
Dr. Rutter shares about his career path from medical school, to orthopedic surgery training, to his current hybrid role in otolaryngology and device entrepreneurship. Interestingly, his experience in orthopedic surgery has inspired him to adopt orthopedic tools and techniques in solving complex ENT cases. He elaborates on this idea of borrowing concepts from other fields, saying that he cultivates a congenial OR environment and often seeks ideas from other team members with different areas of expertise. These problem solving-driven conversations often result in pioneering of new airway surgery techniques.
As we transition to discussing product development, Dr. Rutter outlines his twelve year journey of creating a balloon dilator for the trachea, explaining how he obtained intellectual property rights, cleared FDA regulations, and marketed the product. When in a competitive marketplace, he highlights the benefits of conducting a non-inferiority (“Pollyanna”) study combined with attractive value propositions. Finally, he discusses the reality that some good ideas will not necessarily be successful, due to insufficient market size or extremely high costs of research and development. We conclude on the point that an entrepreneur must evaluate the balance between benefits gained and losses incurred when bringing their product to market.
In this episode, otolaryngologist and entrepreneur Dr. Matthew Bromwich joins our host Dr. Eric Gantwerker to discuss the idea of “intelligent ignorance,” which describes the idea of questioning and challenging the status quo to improve outcomes.
Dr. Bromwich encourages listeners to approach new environments with a curious and open mind, in order to identify inefficiencies that could be addressed with innovation. He applies this concept when recounting his own invention of DizzyFIX, a therapeutic device for patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). The device has allowed for at-home repositioning maneuvers and has improved patients’ quality of life.
The doctors also talk about competition and failure as a drivers for innovation. Dr. Bromwich sees competitors as validation that his ideas are applicable and failure as a sign to pivot the idea towards a new setting. He describes three spheres that the healthcare innovator must navigate: healthcare, research, and business. Dr. Bromwich also mentions that support systems such as experienced entrepreneurs and online communities have helped him navigate these three spheres.
Finally, Dr. Bromwich reiterates the importance of root cause analysis and asking why certain processes have been accepted as the standard. He encourages entrepreneurs to stay problem-focused to ensure that their innovations are addressing real healthcare needs.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED:
DizzyFIX: https://www.dizzyfix.com/ SHOEBOX: https://www.shoebox.md/
In this episode, interventional radiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Bob Smouse joins our host Dr. Bryan Hartley to discuss his journey through the development of the ConvertX stent and the recent acquisition of his company, BrightWater Medical.
Dr. Smouse starts by describing his path from private practice physician, to key opinion leader, to company advisor, and finally to entrepreneur. While incubating several product ideas, he emphasizes the importance of conducting 360 degree evaluations to identify market opportunities and competitors. Dr. Smouse talks about market research strategies, which include population research and physician interest surveys. He also recounts the process of obtaining intellectual property rights and regulatory approval for the ConvertX nephroureteral and biliary stent system.
When building his leadership team, Dr. Smouse recommends bringing on an experienced CEO once the company has reached a growth stage. He recognizes the benefits of using equity as a tool to incentivize early employees.
In the second part of our interview, Dr. Smouse discusses the importance of selling a vision to investors and strategics. He advises entrepreneurs to overestimate the time and capital required for each step of product development, in order to address unexpected challenges. Finally, he highlights the need to develop a sales model with a revenue ramp that shows investors how customers will be acquired and retained.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
ConvertX Stent: https://www.merit.com/peripheral-intervention/drainage/intervention/resolve-convertx-nephroureteral-stent-system/
In this episode, video game developer and entrepreneur Sam Glassenberg joins our host Dr. Eric Gantwerker to discuss the emerging genre of medical education-based video games and his continual goal of improving user experience.
From his early career in the gaming industry, Sam knew that he wanted to address technical and business constraints that artists face in transforming their visions into products. When he fused this vision with healthcare applications, he found himself on an unconventional path towards founding Level Ex, a gaming studio built with the intention of helping physicians develop and maintain clinical skills. What started as a small favor evolved into a preliminary app for fiber optic intubations, and it has since grown into a company that caters to the educational needs of more than 750K players.Sam describes his company’s free-to-play model, and how ad revenues allow his team to adopt a user-centered approach to innovation.
Throughout our interview, Sam gives practical advice on networking across interdisciplinary fields, learning business skills on the job, and collaborating with competitors to push the boundaries of healthcare gaming.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Level Ex- https://www.levelex.com/
JAZZ Venture Partners- https://jazzvp.com/
In this episode, anesthesiologist and venture capitalist Dr. Orrin Ailloni-Charas joins our host Dr. Bryan Hartley to discuss the mechanics of fundraising from both the entrepreneur and the investor side.
First, they talk about the definition of venture capitalism (VC) and its impact on GDP. Dr. Ailloni-Charas notes that the only way to get true and sustainable growth is through innovation of new products, opportunities, and industries. These efforts rely on VC for support. On a macro-level, new technologies require large investments in order to accelerate to the market. On a micro-level, each company also needs investment and guidance.
Dr. Aillioni-Charas walks through different stages of fundraising rounds: friends/family, seed, Series A, Series B, and so on. He says that each round should be centered around a milestone goal that advances the company closer to the final product and exit strategy. He also emphasizes the importance of storytelling and communicating product-market fit and uniqueness to potential investors.
From an investor standpoint, Dr. Aillioni-Charas highlights “green flags” and “red flags” that he has seen in startups. Positive factors are the presence of true clinical need, the ability to receive constructive feedback, and establishment functional oversight boards. Finally, we talk about the valuable clinical perspective that doctors can bring to a company and pathways that doctors can get involved in angel and VC investing.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Angel MD: https://angelmd.com/
Cura Capital: https://www.curacapital.co/
In this episode, Dr. Michael Dake joins Dr. Bryan Hartley to discuss his career of innovation as a clinician, teacher, and researcher. Dr. Dake tells us how he shifted from working in internal medicine to interventional radiology with the help of his mentors.
We discuss the challenges of starting a new residency, and Dr. Dake shares how he knew he wanted to follow a different career path in vascular work. We review the different types of cases that came up from working with cardiac surgeons and other specialties outside of IR. We discuss some lessons learned from working on the clinical side and the industry side of IR.
Dr. Dake explains which failures have stuck with him and touches on why relationships and collaboration are so important. We discuss his current work on a liquid embolic and how involvement in innovative opportunities has shaped Dr. Dake’s career.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
ISET; use discount code: BACKTABLE
https://www.iset.org
In this episode, Dr. Randy Hofmann joins Dr. Bryan Hartley to discuss his path to creating an innovative digital health company. Dr. Hofmann tells us how he became an IR and discusses his start in medical devices. We share some advice on how to get started on a new project.
We discuss Dr. Hofmann’s health technology company, Grand Rounds, which offers clinical and financial guidance. Dr. Hofmann explains why he came up with the idea for a digital health company and how his experiences as a father and husband influenced his advocacy for patient education.
In this episode, Dr. Brinton tells us how he started as a biomedical engineer and why he eventually went to medical school. We discuss how important mentorship can be, and we talk about how he was able to balance residency with building a company.
Dr. Brinton shares some of the biggest lessons he has learned while being an innovator, and he discusses the goals of his company, Shockwave. We talk about the importance of understanding the patient population and some of the technical challenges of creating solutions to healthcare problems. We speak about Dr. Brinton’s position as the Fellowship Director of BioDesign at Stanford, and how he worked to train the next generation of innovators.
We review the importance of needs driven innovation in medicine and how to keep the patient at the center of the innovation process. We discuss the importance of having a creative, multidisciplinary team behind an invention. We share some advice for physicians wanting to get started in needs driven innovation and explain when to file for intellectual property. Dr. Brinton explains why it can be important to “fail often and fail fast.”