Less Invasive: Recent Episodes
Lucien Blondel
Let's talk about Minimally Invasive Surgery and technologies enabling these techniques, as well as other emerging assistive technologies that will spread in the radiology and operating room environments. Robotics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, surgical navigation, procedural telemedicine, artificial intelligence, data platforms...
I am Lucien Blondel and I bring 20 years of experience in surgical robotics for neurosurgery, orthopedics, spine surgery and interventional radiology to the table.
In this episode I talk with Christoff Heunis, the co-founder and CEO of Flux Robotics, a medtech startup that develops the Flux One robot for endovascular procedures.
We talk about:
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Chirstoff's background & experience in both research & industry
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Conventional endovascular surgery and its challenge
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The Flux One robot: what it is, how it works, early results
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The company's story, funding journey and next steps
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The first-time entrepreneur & CEO role and the South African culture
RESOURCES
Christoff Heunis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoff-heunis/
Flux Robotics: https://www.fluxrobotics.nl/
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that caught my attention with a focus today on orthopedics, endoscopy and laparoscopy.
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THINK Surgical received FDA clearance for the TMINI Miniature Robotic System
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Virtuoso Surgical unveiled its robotic system for endoscopy
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Titan Medical signed licence agreements with Medtronic and Intuitive
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
Surgical Robotics Technology launched in May the first edition of the Surgical Robotics Industry Award in 4 categories: Industry Leadership, Innovative Start-Up, Outstanding Company, Ground-Breaking Technology.
A great initiative to gather the community to celebrate outstanding contribution from individuals and companies in the industry!
Anyone with an interest in surgical robotics can vote online:
https://www.surgicalroboticstechnology.com/surgical-robotics-industry-awards/
In this episode I talk with Dr. Atul Gupta, interventional radiologist practicing in the Philadelphia area and Chief Medical Officer at Philips for their Image-Guided Therapy business. Dr. Gupta is responsible for the clinical strategy and vision for the interventional imaging systems, software, and endovascular devices.
We talk about:- his background and journey into IR and into the industry- how he is driving innovation as CMO at Philips- how Augmented Reality is being implemented and will impact the work of an interventionalist- what will likely be the role of Artificial Intelligence in Image-Guided Therapy- how Robotics could augment physicians and other benefits it’s expected to provide- the therapy devices business and critical integration with the angiography equipment
RESOURCES
Dr. Atul Gupta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atulguptamdPhilips Image-Guided Therapy: https://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/solutions/image-guided-therapy/all-products
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Robert Masson, sports spine microneurosurgeon practicing minimally invasive spine surgery at The Masson Spine Institute in Orlando, FL and Park City, UT. Lifelong athlete in a relentless quest for performance, Dr. Masson is the founder and CEO of eXpanded eXistence, a mixed reality tech company building the Surgical Metaverse with a vision to improve the set up and workflow of the surgical sapce.
We talk about:
- how and when eXpanded eXistence started and where the name comes from
- being both surgeon and CEO of a tech company
- the market access strategy for the HoloOPS product
- the iMAS 360 lumbar reconstruction platform
- what Dr. Masson would do if not a surgeon and tech company CEO
RESOURCES
Dr. Robert Masson on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robert-masson-md-62019a74
The Masson Spine Institute: www.massonsi.com
eXpanded eXistence: www.expandedexistence.com
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Robert Masson, sports spine microneurosurgeon practicing minimally invasive surgery at The Masson Spine Institute in Orlando, FL and Park City, UT. Lifelong athlete in a relentless quest for performance, Dr. Masson is the founder and CEO of eXpanded eXistence, a mixed reality tech company building the Surgical Metaverse with a vision to improve the set up and workflow of the surgical space.
We talk about:
- his background, experience and practice in spine surgery
- the challenges of organizing an OR and the sterile field
- the HoloOPS platform that goes beyond digitizing the pref cards
- the early feedbacks from clinical use
- the impact of tech layoffs on AR-based products
RESOURCES
Dr. Robert Masson on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robert-masson-md-62019a74
The Masson Spine Institute: www.massonsi.com
eXpanded eXistence: www.expandedexistence.com
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about minimally invasive surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that caught my attention with a focus today on robotics and exoskeletons.
- Ethicon announced the 1st kidney stones removal procedure with the MONARCH robot
- Wandercraft obtained FDA clearance for its ATALANTE exoskeleton
- Nanoflex Robotics raised $12 million to bring its robot to the market
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Vanash Patel, colorectal surgeon practicing in London and Hertfordshire, UK, and user of the Versius robot from CMR Surgical.
We talk about:
- the business case and what a surgical robot can bring to the hospital
- the choice of a robot model when flexibility is a constraint
- the use of telepresence for mentoring
- Virtual Reality, App for surgical data & analytics
- whether remote surgery is applicable to the UK
RESOURCES
Dr. Patel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanash-patel-00986278
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: https://www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/
CMR Versius robot: https://cmrsurgical.com/
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Vanash Patel, colorectal surgeon practicing in London and Hertfordshire, UK. We talk about robotic surgery with the Versius robot from CMR Surgical:
- the open console: ergonomics, 3D glasses, joysticks, etc.
- the setup and port placement with the robot
- the training process, learning curve and early results with robotics
RESOURCES
Dr. Patel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanash-patel-00986278
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: https://www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/
CMR Versius robot: https://cmrsurgical.com/
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that caught my attention with a focus today on soft tissue robotics, endoscopy and artificial intelligence.
1- Ronovo Surgical emerges from stealth mode with the Carina robot for laparoscopic surgery
2- Olympus to acquire pioneering cloud-AI endoscopy startup Odin Vision
3- Theraclion announces results of first US trial for varicose vein treatment
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this episode I talk with Anne Osdoit, the energetic & optimistic CEO of Moon Surgical, a medtech startup that develops the Maestro robot for laparoscopic surgery. Anne is also VC partner at Sofinnova. We talk about:
- What data streams Maestro has been recording during surgery
- How Moon Surgical will leverage data & AI for actionable features
- How the Moon Surgical story started in a lab
- Challenges a CEO has to face in an early-stage medtech startup
- Working with a French-American team
- What she would dream to do if not a CEO or VC
RESOURCES
Anne Osdoit on LinkedIn: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/anne-osdoit-5812807
Moon Surgical on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moonsurgical/
Moon Surgical website: www.moosurgical.com
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Anne Osdoit, the energetic & optimistic CEO of Moon Surgical, a medtech startup that develops the Maestro robot for laparoscopic surgery. Anne is also VC partner at Sofinnova. We talk about:
- Anne’s background & experience in the medtech space
- Conventional laparoscopic surgery and its challenges
- The Maestro robot: what it is, how it works, and its indications
- Feedbacks from the early clinical experience with the robot
- How Maestro compares to the other robotic systems
RESOURCES
Anne Osdoit on LinkedIn: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/anne-osdoit-5812807
Moon Surgical on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moonsurgical/
Moon Surgical website: www.moosurgical.com
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Alok Sharan, orthopedic spine surgeon practicing in New Jersey. Dr. Alok Sharan is a pioneer of the awake spinal fusion technique, president of the Spine and Performance Institute and co-founder of DocSocial, a social media for healthcare professionals.
We talk about:
- back pain and minimally invasive spine surgery
- the impact of general anesthesia
- awake surgery: which patients and which procedures?
- how patients & surgeons respond to this technique
- VR for digital sedation or hypnosis
- VR for surgical training
RESOURCES
- Dr. Alok Sharan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alok-sharan-6a612610/
- Awake Spine Surgery: https://awakespinalfusion.com/
- DocSocial: https://doc.social/
Listen to the Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistive technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Prof. Yann Nguyen, ENT surgeon and co-director of a research team at the Hearing Institute in Paris, France. We talk about:
- the ear anatomy and physiology
- the challenges of middle ear surgery and cochlear implantation
- how the RobOtol system works
- what's the future of robotics in ear surgery
RESOURCES
Prof. Nguyen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannnguyen/
Collin Robotol robot: https://www.collinmedical.fr/en/robotol/4207-systeme-robotol-avec-accessoires.html
ISIR Robotics Research Lab: https://www.isir.upmc.fr/?lang=en
Listen to Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and enabling technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that caught my attention with a focus today on soft tissue robotics and interventional oncology.
1- Moon Surgical received FDA Clearance and completed its first-in-human clinical study
2- CMR Surgical partners with J&J Ethicon to sell the Versius robot in select markets
3- HistoSonics raised $100m in a new financing led by J&J Innovation
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Jawad Ali, board-certified general surgeon practicing in Austin, TX and founder of Vality Partners and Austin Medtech Connect.
We talk about:
- Vality Partners, a group of consulting surgeons for early-stage medtech startups
- Austin Medtech Connect, a non-profit breaking silos for the local medtech community in Central Texas
Dr. Jawad Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jawad-ali-md-11152662
Vality Partners: https://www.valitypartners.com/
Austin Medtech Connect: https://www.austinmedtech.org/
Listen to Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and enabling technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode I talk with Dr. Jawad Ali, board-certified general surgeon practicing in Austin, TX and founder of Vality Partners and Austin Medtech Connect.
We talk about:
- His practice in minimally-invasive surgery, acute care & trauma, endoscopy
- Surgical robotics and perspectives from leveraging pre-, intra- and postoperative data
- Digital surgery technologies, including telesurgery, telepresence, virtual reality, and AI
Dr. Jawad Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jawad-ali-md-11152662
Listen to Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and enabling technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this episode, I speak with Todd Usen, a seasoned medtech executive and CEO of a medtech startup called Activ Surgical that completed the world’s first autonomous robotic surgery of soft tissue in 2018 and commericalizes a digital platform that brings intelligent information to imaging systems during minimally invasive surgery.
We talk about:
- Todd's story into medtech
- The mission & vision of Activ Surgical
- How the ActivSight imaging module works
- What's the role of AI and Machine Learning
- What is the commercialization stage and the next steps
Website: https://www.activsurgical.com/
Listen to Less Invasive Podcast, a podcast about Minimally Invasive Surgery and enabling technologies for the operating room and radiology environments - robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, data analytics, telemedicine, and more.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that recently caught my attention in the biotech AI and robotics space.
- Biotech & Medical AI startup company Surge raised a $2.6m round
- Medicaroid obtained new clearances for its hinotori robot
- Accelus extends the usage of its REMI spine robot to all major 3D imaging systems
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Paula Doyle, board-certified surgeon in obstetrics and gynecology specialized in reconstructive pelvic surgery at the University of Rochester. Dr Doyle is the founder and CEO of a medtech startup called EndoGlow that manufactures a fluorescent medical device intended for minimally invasive surgery.
We talk about:
- How the EndoGlow story started and why she decided to create a company
- The main challenges she and her team faced during the pre-market phase
- How to keep a balance mind when being both a surgeon and CEO
- Does Quantum Surgical uses Near-Infrared Imaging (NIR) and why
- Why did I chose to start a podcast
Website: https://www.endoglow.com/
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Paula Doyle, board-certified surgeon in obstetrics and gynecology specialized in reconstructive pelvic surgery at the University of Rochester. Dr Doyle is the founder and CEO of a medtech startup called EndoGlow that manufactures a fluorescent medical device intended for minimally invasive surgery.
We talk about:
- The challenges of reconstructive pelvic surgery (e.g. sacrocolpopexy)
- The limitations of conventiontal fluorescence-guided surgery
- How the GreenEgg fluorescent device was invented and how it works
- How the GreenEgg can facilitate communication when using a robot
- And other unexpected benefits that were unveiled during the clinical study
Website: https://www.endoglow.com/
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that recently caught my attention in dental surgery, Mixed Reality and surgical robotics.
- Cyberdontics is targeting dental implant surgery with robotics, AI and a novel imaging technology
- Level Ex showcased their Spine XR application at NASS
- THINK Surgical raised $100m to accelerate the commercial launch of new products
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that recently caught my attention in the implants, AI and robotics space.
- CARMAT got the green light to resume their artificial heart in Europe
- Theator closed a $39.5m fundraising for its AI platform for surgical video management
- ForSight Robotics closed a $55m fundraising to develop fully robotic cataract surgery
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that recently caught my attention in the augmented reality and AI space.
- eXpanded eXistence announced the first spine surgeries with their AR system
- Arterys got acquired by Tempus
- Google Cloud introduced a digital suite for Medical Imaging
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this audio capsule, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that recently caught my attention in the soft-tissue surgical robotics space.
- Virtuoso Surgical's $20m public offering for an endoscopic surgical robot
- Medtronic's new market clearances for the Hugo robot
- Intuitive Surgical's Q3'2022 results on da Vinci, SP and Ion robots
Subscribe to the Less Invasive podcast to get future episodes on minimally-invasive surgery, robotics, medical imaging and AI sent directly to you.
In this short episode, I briefly outline 3 pieces of news that recently caught my attention in the surgical robotics, medical imaging and AI space.
- Bayer launched Calantic cloud-based platform for AI apps in medical imaging
- Intuitive joined the $14m Series A from Optellum, an AI startup in lung cancer
- NDI announces a robotic navigation development kit with KUKA and MPE
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Cory Calendine, board-certified orthopedic surgeon specialized in hip & knee replacement at the Bone & Joint Institute of Tennessee, technology enthusiast and social media influencer. We talk about:
- Telemedicine for education, remote rep support, and collaboration
- Virtual Reality for surgical training
- Social media
Dr. Cory Calendine social media accounts:
Website: https://www.corycalendinemd.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corycalendinemd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/corycalendinemd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corycalendinemd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoryCalendineMD/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtuCgnGoZNPFvJ2EzRZNHgw
The Bone & Joint Institute of Tennessee: https://boneandjointtn.org/
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Cory Calendine, board-certified orthopedic surgeon specialized in hip & knee replacement at the Bone & Joint Institute of Tennessee, technology enthusiast and social media influencer. We talk about:
- Dr Calendine’s life philosophy and the stress in the OR
- What is less invasive in hip & knee replacement
- The promise of technologies such as Robotics, Data, AI and Smart Implants
Dr. Cory Calendine social media accounts:
Website: https://www.corycalendinemd.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corycalendinemd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/corycalendinemd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corycalendinemd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoryCalendineMD/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtuCgnGoZNPFvJ2EzRZNHgw
The Bone & Joint Institute of Tennessee: https://boneandjointtn.org/
In this episode, I speak with Anthony Sebaaly, clinical application specialist at Robotics Surgical Systems.
We talk about:
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Anthony’s journey in the medtech space and his passion for surgical robotics
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What is the training required for a surgeon and the clinical support after the first cases
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The role of Clinical Application Specialist at national and regional levels
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What he learned from working with several surgical robotics platform
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His home country Lebanon and the Lebanese culture
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How his engagement on LinkedIn impacted his career
Anthony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-sebaaly/
Robotics Surgical Systems: https://robotics-surgical.com/
In this episode, I speak with Eric Anderson, founder of Extremity Surgical, host of the Ortho Idea Podcast and creator of the Medical Sales Rx training platform.
We talk about:
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Eric’s background, story and journey in orthopedics and extremities
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Pathologies, procedures and challenges in extremity surgery
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The future and place of assistive technologies in extremity surgery
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The transition from Big Ortho to Free Sales Agent
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The use of social media and online training in medical sales
Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-anderson-7442818/
Ortho Idea Podcast: http://orthoidea.com/
In this special episode, I speak with Romain Moulin, CEO of Exotec, a French company and leader in global warehouse robotics.
Exotec raised a total of $446m since 2015 and became this January the 25th unicorn Made in France.
We talk about:
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Romain's background, story and journey in robotics
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His experience designing medical imaging systems at GE
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The warehouse robotics market and how the Skypod system differentiate from other automation solutions
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The actual impact of robotics on jobs in warehousing
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What is it like to grow a $2B startup company
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What kind of CEO Romain actually is
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The mindset and values at Exotect, and how to keep a company culture
and more.
Romain Moulin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romain-moulin-1064084/
Exotec: https://www.exotec.com/en/home/
Skypod: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTusHMRHQag/
In this second episode, I speak with Karandeep Singh Badwal, a Quality & Regulatory consultant, host of The Medtech Podcast, and content creator on Youtube.
We talk about:
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Karandeep’s background, story and journey in Quality & Regulatory for medical devices
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The transition to full time consultancy
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Where entrepreneurs should start with when developing a new medical device
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Regulatory strategy to address several markets and the impact of the Medical Device Regulation in Europe
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Values and principles Sikh people live by, including the five Ks
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Why I chose surgical robotics
Karandeep on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal
Karandeep's youtube channel (QRA Medical): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1ygqJO7_HV30XVdHyN-0lg
In this first episode, I speak with Jay Pendleton, VP of Sales at Viseon, a startup commercializing the MaxView visualization system for minimally invasive spine surgery. We talk about:
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His background, story and journey in the medical devices space
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The visualization challenges in minimally invasive spine surgery and how MaxView aims at solving them
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The transition from corporate to startup and vice-versa
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What’s going on with social media in the medtech space
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Why I decided to start a podcast in 2022
Jay on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jameilpendleton
Viseon website: www.viseon-spine.com
Welcome to Less Invasive podcast!
I am Lucien Blondel and I bring 20 years of experience in surgical robotics for neurosurgery, orthopedics, spine surgery and interventional radiology to the table.
We'll talk about Minimally Invasive Surgery - what it means for the physician, patient, hospital, and payers, technologies that enable these techniques, as well as other emerging assistive technologies that will spread in the radiology and operating room environments. Robotics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, surgical navigation, procedural telemedicine, artificial intelligence, data platforms...
I believe that by sharing knowledge we can bridge gaps, create awareness, educate, and foster callings & innovation that will impact lives.
Happy listening to you all!