Medsider Radio: Learn From Proven Medtech And Healthcare Experts

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down withTracy MacNeal, President and CEO of Materna Medical. Materna is developing two devices addressing different aspects of pelvic health: Ellora, aimed at preventing childbirth injuries during delivery, and Milli, designed to treat vaginismus, a pelvic floor condition that makes intercourse painful or impossible.Tracy is a healthcare executive and engineer with over 25 years of experience in medical devices, digital health, and women’s health, including six successful transactions. In addition to heading Materna, Tracy serves on the AdvaMed Board and leads its Women’s Health Equity Initiative, and was previously President of Diagnostics and Digital Health at Ximedica.In this interview, Tracy shares how clinical data enabled Materna to bridge B2B and B2C channels, and why clarity of focus is essential when commercialization paths diverge. Tracy also outlines what it takes to build in undefined markets, from aligning KOLs to publishing foundational definitions, an

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Joanna Nathan, CEO and co-founder of Prana Surgical — a startup developing image-guided surgical platforms for precision oncology.  Joanna's career spans translational research at Texas Heart Institute, product development at Saranas, and portfolio management at Mercury Fund and Johnson & Johnson's Center for Device Innovation. She mentors founders through her not-for-profit organization Enventure and teaches entrepreneurship at Rice University's Jones School of Business.In this interview, Joanna shares her framework for evaluating which medtech ideas merit pursuit, revealing three critical signals every founder should look for: clinical urgency that requires no convincing, favorable asymmetry between value and technical risk, and optimal market timing. Joanna also demonstrates how systematic grant applications and strategic resource allocation can extend runway while building investor credibility, and addresses the unique psychological challenges of bui

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Greg Lipschitz, CEO of Firefly Neuroscience. Firefly’s FDA-510(k) cleared Brain Network Analytics (BNA™) technology objectively measures brain function through EEG analysis. With a proprietary database spanning twelve cognitive disorders, the company serves both clinical practitioners and pharmaceutical partners.Greg brings extensive experience in private equity, investment banking, capital markets, and finance to his leadership role. As Managing Director of Old Stone Advisors and former Vice President of Lazer Capital, Greg has advised on over $1 billion in transactions. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.In this interview, Greg shares insights on strategic fundraising approaches, platform prioritization decisions, and building commercial momentum in healthcare through direct sales and customer feedback loops.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founder

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Maulik Nanavaty, CEO of Anumana. Anumana, an AI-driven health technology company focused on cardiovascular care, is taking a pragmatic approach to scaling AI in medicine.Maulik is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 30 years of global experience in the medical device industry. He spent 18 years at Boston Scientific, where he led its $1B+ Neuromodulation division and served as President of Boston Scientific Japan. Prior to that, he held leadership positions at Baxter. Known for driving innovation in implantable and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies, Maulik also serves on the board of Rani Therapeutics.In this interview, Maulik shares why building a strong risk-benefit case and designing around real-world clinician needs are key to adoption. With data from over 20 million patients and a focus on transparency, Anumana is reshaping how AI reaches the point of care.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, i

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we had a fascinating chat with Mary Lou Jepsen, founder and Chairman of Openwater, a medtech company developing breakthrough diagnostic and therapeutic wearables for cancer, stroke, mental illness, and beyond. Openwater is rethinking how medical devices are built — not as single-purpose machines, but as flexible platforms that function more like smartphones. A physicist and prolific inventor, Mary Lou holds nearly 300 patents and has launched over 50 products across VR, AR, holography, and consumer electronics. Previously, she led engineering at Intel, Facebook, and Google, taught at MIT, and now serves on the boards of Lear Corporation and Luminar Technologies. She has been named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people. In this interview, Mary Lou explains why the traditional “one disease, one device” model falls short, and how her team is applying consumer electronics and open-source principles to develop scalable, software-driven tools. Backed by renow

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Anthony Fernando, President and CEO of Asensus Surgical.Asensus is expanding the role of robotics in the OR with its performance-guided surgery platform — a digital-first, AI-enabled system designed to enhance precision and real-time decision-making. A mechanical engineer by training, Anthony has more than two decades of experience spanning medtech, robotics, and global operations. He joined Asensus in 2015 and previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer. Earlier in his career, Anthony held leadership roles at Stryker, Becton Dickinson, PerkinElmer, and Varian, where he focused on advancing automation and medical device innovation across international markets.In this interview, Anthony shares how the Durham, NC–based Asensus navigated uncharted regulatory territory for a first-of-its-kind technology and proactively made the case for acquisition — well before KARL STORZ came to the table.Before we dive into the discussion, I want

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we had a really engaging conversation with James (Jim) Corbett, CEO of AVITA Medical.AVITA Medical’s RECELL system uses Spray-On Skin Cell technology to accelerate healing for patients with severe burns and wounds.  Jim brings nearly 40 years of medical device leadership experience to AVITA Medical. His career spans global commercial and operational roles, including President of Boston Scientific and General Manager of Scimed Life Systems. Jim has served as CEO of six companies, including three publicly traded entities — Microtherapeutics, ev3, and Alphatec Spine — as well as CathWorks, Home Diagnostics, and Vertos Medical.In this interview, Jim shares lessons from a career spanning global medtech leadership positions — including the importance of hands-on fundraising, adapting sales strategies as products mature, and how generating clinical evidence beyond FDA requirements serves commercial adoption.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First,

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Todd Usen, CEO of Adagio Medical.Adagio specializes in catheter-based ablation technologies for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, with a focus on ventricular tachycardia (VT).  Todd has over three decades of leadership experience in the medical technology industry, with particular expertise in commercial strategy, operational performance, and business transformation. Before joining Adagio, Todd served as CEO of Minerva Surgical, a women's health company, and as CEO of Activ Surgical, a digital surgery startup. Todd has also served in executive positions at Olympus, United States Orthopedics, Smith and Nephew, and Boston Scientific.In this interview, Todd shares insights on making usability central to commercialization strategy, leveraging breakthrough designation beyond regulatory validation, and assembling effective boards by carefully selecting both investor and independent members who bring operational expertise.Before we dive into the discussion, I w

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Stuart Long, CEO of InfoBionic. InfoBionic's virtual cardiac telemetry platform, MoMe ARC®, brings together a tiered hospital-grade monitoring capability powered by advanced AI-enabled analysis for cardiac interventions.Stuart has over two decades of experience in the medical device and healthcare technology sectors, with a focus on driving rapid commercial growth. His leadership spans roles including CEO of Monarch Medical Systems, global chief marketing and sales officer at CapsuleTech, and executive positions at Philips Healthcare, Agfa HealthCare, AMICAS, and FUJIFILM USA. At CapsuleTech, he developed strategic initiatives that led to the company’s acquisition by Qualcomm Life. In this interview, Stuart shares insights on combining debt and equity financing, hybrid commercial approaches, and positioning startups for acquisitions through adjacent market development — all while maintaining the persistence needed to survive the long game.Before we dive into

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Shreya Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Zenflow.Zenflow is a medical device company focused on treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). A biomedical engineer, Shreya brings over 15 years of experience in medtech, including serving as a lead reviewer at the FDA, where she specialized in cardiovascular devices. Shreya co-founded Zenflow in 2014 out of the Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellowship. The company was one of the first medical device startups backed by Y Combinator and also received early support from StartX and the UCSF Rosenman Institute at QB3.Shreya's experience at Zenflow reveals strategies for grounding innovation in patient needs, building productive FDA relationships, and leveraging accelerator programs to transform academic concepts into viable businesses.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new in

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Dr. Arun Menawat, Chairman and CEO of Profound Medical. Profound is commercializing the TULSA-PRO system, an alternative approach to prostate cancer treatment that uses MRI-guided thermal ultrasound to target and eliminate cancerous tissue without surgical incisions. Before joining Profound in 2016, Arun served as the Chairman and CEO of Novadaq Technologies for 13 years, guiding the company from a startup to one of the fastest-growing, NASDAQ-listed medical technology businesses with a market cap exceeding one billion USD. Earlier in his career, Arun served as President of Cedara Software, a company that developed the industry’s first medical imaging software platform. Today, it’s part of IBM’s Watson Health.In this interview, Arun shares insights on building credibility with physicians, the strategic approach to clinical trials that led to their recent Medicare reimbursement coverage, and his vision for transforming the future of surgery beyond prostate ca

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Claire Dixon, CEO of Neuraura.Neuraura is developing LoOop, an over-the-counter wearable that targets PCOS through low-frequency electrical stimulation.Claire brings over 25 years of international leadership experience to her role as co-founder and CEO of Neuraura. With a master's degree in engineering from Cambridge and an MBA from Harvard, she spent 15 years as a strategic consultant to capital-intensive businesses before transitioning to entrepreneurship. She was recently named among the “Top 200 Trailblazing Leaders in Women's Health and femtech” by Women of Wearables.In this interview, Claire shares insights on navigating regulatory pathways, designing for real user needs, and building strategic partnerships to bring innovative women's health solutions to market through a direct-to-consumer approach.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and C

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Vicky Demas, CEO of identifeye HEALTH (formerly Tesseract Health), who's leading the company's efforts to democratize access to retinal imaging. Using advanced algorithms and automated systems, identifeye's technology captures and analyzes retinal images to detect early signs of disease.Before joining identifeye HEALTH, Vicky led new product development at GRAIL, supporting the creation of the company's multi-cancer early detection test (Galleri). She was also a founding member of Google Life Sciences (later Verily) within Google [x], where she led teams focused on diagnostics, medical devices, and translational laboratory science. An engineer and scientist, Vicky holds over 20 patents and has authored numerous scientific publications across multiple disciplines.In this interview, Vicky challenges founders to consider: Are you building a diagnostic solution that can scale globally or a product limited to specialized healthcare settings? She also discusses wh

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Randy Pritchard and Erica Rogers, leaders of Axena Health. Axena is transforming pelvic floor therapy with Leva, a device bringing clinically-proven, supervised pelvic floor muscle training into women’s homes. Randy, CEO of Axena, brings nearly 25 years of healthcare experience to the company, most recently as CEO of Pillar Biosciences and previously holding leadership positions at Roche Diagnostics, where he spent 18 years developing commercial expertise. Erica, who sits on Axena's Board of Directors, spent a decade as President and CEO of Silk Road Medical, leading the company from early clinical trials through IPO and eventual acquisition by Boston Scientific. A returning guest to the podcast after nearly half a decade, Erica previously held roles at Medicine360, co-founded two other medical device companies, and spent over 12 years at Boston Scientific prior to her role at Silk Road.In this interview, they share essential medtech commercialization insigh

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Ryan Rhodes, CEO of EDAP TMS. EDAP is changing prostate cancer treatment through Focal One, a robotic high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) system that doesn’t require the use of surgery or radiation. Ryan has over 30 years of experience in market development, with two decades focused on medical robotics. Before EDAP, Ryan was CEO of Restoration Robotics, where he guided the company to a successful merger with Venus Concept. He spent 13+ years at Intuitive Surgical, establishing the global Urology franchise, which became the company’s entry point for broader adoption of the da Vinci system. He also spent 11 years at Ethicon (J&J) in sales, marketing, and market development.In this interview, Ryan challenges founders to ask: Are you creating a scalable medtech solution or a product with limited growth potential? He unpacks why standardization and scalability are critical for adoption, how clinical data fuels credibility and reimbursement, and why early

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Kirk Huntsman, CEO of Vivos, a company commercializing a non-invasive, FDA-cleared oral appliance designed to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Kirk is a seasoned healthcare entrepreneur with a track record for scaling and exiting successful businesses. He founded Dental One, growing it into one of the largest dental service organizations (DSO) in the U.S., with over 165 practices across 15 states. After selling the company to MSD Capital, he led ReachOut Healthcare America, a Morgan Stanley Private Equity portfolio company. He later built and exited Xenith Practices, another DSO, and founded Ortho Ventures, focusing on pediatric oral appliances. Now as CEO of Vivos, Kirk and his team are developing and commercializing proprietary treatments for sleep-related breathing disorders, offering patients an FDA-cleared alternative to CPAP therapy.In this interview, Kirk talks about his go-to-market strategy, the importance of credibility markers, the complexity

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Caitlin Morse, CEO and co-founder of BrainSpace, who has a decade of experience spanning medtech consulting, product development, and strategic advising. BrainSpace is developing an innovative precision drainage system with continuous ICP monitoring designed to automate cerebrospinal fluid management for patients recovering from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, and neurosurgery. In this interview, Caitlin shares her advice on assessing the viability of a medtech idea, tells the story of how her prototype won over stakeholders, and discusses navigating the development phase while balancing clinical and regulatory demands.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’re into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most succe

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we had an insightful discussion with Drs. Asha Parekh and Adam Power, co-founders of Front Line Medical Technologies. The company's COBRA-OS (Control of Bleeding, Resuscitation, Arterial Occlusion System) is a compact, minimally invasive device, designed for temporary aortic occlusion in trauma situations. Asha has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Western University, and combines technical expertise with entrepreneurial leadership. Adam is an academic and practicing vascular surgeon at Western University, with extensive training from institutions including Dalhousie, McMaster, and Mayo Clinic.In this interview, they discuss how their clinical-engineer partnership accelerated development, their approach to clinical studies for regulatory clearance across multiple geographies, and their strategic decision to avoid VC funding during early development—and how that decision paid off.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’re into lea

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Kelly Huang, President and CEO of Elucid. Elucid has developed a platform that uses AI to analyze cardiac CT scans to provide a detailed, non-invasive assessment of a patient’s arterial plaque. Kelly's journey spans nearly 30 years of leadership in healthcare, with expertise in driving innovation and growth across medical devices, diagnostics, health IT, and consumer health. Before Elucid, he served as COO at Cardea Bio, leading its successful acquisition by Paragraf, and as CEO of Obalon Therapeutics, where he introduced noninvasive medical devices to expand treatment options for physicians. Kelly's career also includes senior roles at L-Nutra, Nestlé/Galderma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson.In this interview, Kelly shares advice on how to successfully bring novel devices to market, secure reimbursement, and drive adoption by focusing on the essentials—collaboration, trust, robust data, and transparency.Before we dive into the discussion, I

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we had an insightful chat with Nitin Salunke, President and CEO of Supira Medical, a Shifamed portfolio company. Supira is developing a catheter-based heart pump that provides hemodynamic support for patients undergoing high-risk heart procedures. Before Supira, Nitin was Vice President of R&D at Medtronic Neurovascular, overseeing global product development. He has also held leadership roles at Altura Medical, Cordis Corp (then a Johnson & Johnson company), and W.L. Gore & Associates. Nitin holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and is an inventor and co-author on many patents and publications.In this interview, Nitin shares the philosophy that guided his journey as CEO of Supira, his strategy to evaluate and address major risk factors in medtech, how to generate value for all stakeholders—patients, physicians, and investors, and his formula for creating a next-gen medical device.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you’