Digital Orthopaedics Conference (DOCSF)

Join us as we delve into the future of investments in the US!

In this captivating episode, Stefano Bini and Unity Stoakes lead the discussion, unveiling Startup Health's groundbreaking vision for the market. They guide us through the profound impact of the past decade of health innovation, the current era of chaos that poses a potential mass extinction event for some companies, and the exhilarating new phase of opportunity that lies ahead. They also shed light on the role of blockchain and various cutting-edge technologies in the healthcare space, including brain-computer interfaces, the transformative power of food as medicine, and advancements in mobility. While integrating these innovative solutions may present challenges, Bini and Stoakes emphasize the importance of establishing a common language and a well-structured wireframe.

Tune in to this episode for unparalleled insights into the current state of healthcare innovation, and discover the path towards a brighter future!

We are delighted to welcome back Nancy Lynch, MD, MBA to our show, where she will be sharing insights on investment and innovation in the MSK (musculoskeletal) space.

Dr. Lynch highlights that a significant portion of recent investments has been directed towards ortho-facilitated ancillary technologies, with an impressive 75% of these investments being AI-based. She also addresses the impact of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on startup financing, emphasizing that it is relatively inconsequential compared to other factors. Venture capitalists are now adopting a more discerning approach to new investments, prioritizing solid business models. Moreover, the prolonged period of uncertainty, global and political issues, market volatility, and the looming possibility of a recession are presenting formidable challenges for startups.

Tune in to gain valuable insights and recommendations for navigating the potential upcoming period of consolidation and challenges in the world of venture capital.

This podcast episode features Dr. Daniel Kraft, a physician-scientist. Kraft has served as faculty chair for Medicine at Singularity University since its inception in 2008, and in 2011 founded Exponential Medicine, a program (now evolved to NextMed Health) that explores convergent, rapidly developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare.

In this episode, Dr. Kraft delves into the fascinating realm of digital health trends and the future of healthcare. He emphasizes the pressing need for innovation and the integration of new technologies, such as computational biology, and virtual and mixed reality, to propel us toward a more continuous, data-driven, and personalized healthcare system. 

Dr. Kraft also highlights the immense potential of precision wellness and restorative medicine in the field of MSK (musculoskeletal) and Orthopedics. Furthermore, he explores the digitization of healthcare and the transformative power of exponential technologies, shedding light on key areas like genome sequencing, microbiome, and digital twins.

Tune in to gain insights into the incredible advancements taking place in the world of health!

Let's dive into the transformative concept of Private Practice 3.0!

In the healthcare industry, private practice can be challenging. But with Private Practice 3.0, we're bringing together ambulatory surgery centers and digital orthopedics to create a better patient experience. Say goodbye to long waits and minimal face time with the doctor!

In this episode, we have Jared Weir as our guest, who shares insights on the problems with the current model and exciting solutions through digital orthopedics and surgery centers. Dr. Weir discusses implementing cool technologies like smart implants and remote patient monitoring in his private practice.

When things get easier for doctors, it's a win-win for patients too. Join us as we explore Private Practice 3.0 and how it's changing the game in healthcare!

Let's talk about the importance of user design!

Join us as Dennis Boyle, an industrial designer, and mechanical engineer, shares his insights on design thinking in healthcare. He emphasizes the need to prioritize users and their needs, fostering empathy and creating solutions for extreme cases. Boyle provides fascinating examples, like designing a hiking sandal and a pill pack for people on multiple medications. He also discusses both successful designs, such as an online pharmacy improving medication adherence, and failures, like confusing parking signs.

Design thinking holds the key to improving healthcare by considering people's behaviors and experiences. Tune in to explore the world of user design with us!

In this exciting episode, Mohan Nair discusses creativity and market-making with AI.

Nair shares his insights on the challenges of launching new ideas in large institutions and the importance of being an innovator in a rapidly changing world. He emphasizes the impact of AI on society and the need for a human perspective. Drawing from his experience in innovation, Nair reveals how to navigate the ever-changing landscape by thinking outside the box and embracing change. He also dives into the advancements in AI, particularly highlighting the game-changing GPT-3 with its 175 billion parameters, and encourages the audience to view the conference as an opportunity for transformative shifts.

Join us and explore how AI tools are shaping the future!

Welcome back to the Digital Orthopedics Podcast, where we bring you insightful discussions from the UCSF Digital Orthopedics Conference that took place in San Francisco from May 3rd to May 5th, 2023!

This conference is dedicated to exploring the digital transformation of outpatient surgery, with a strong focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI, virtual reality, and digital twins. In our podcast, we will be sharing 38 episodes, each lasting around 15 minutes, except for the keynotes and select panels which may be longer. Our goal is to provide a platform for those who couldn't attend the conference and offer a valuable recap for those who did.

Don't miss out on the exciting discussions ahead! Tune in and don't hesitate to share your thoughts with us!

In this episode, Doug Fairbanks, CEO of Advanced Scanners, discusses the impact of user experience on surgical-enabling technologies with the help of new features in robotics. Advanced Scanners is a deep-tech scanning company in Austin, Texas, and Doug has 20+ years of working at the intersection of technology, orthopedics, and commercialization.

Doug starts by pointing out how a graphic user interface helped computing titans like Apple and Microsoft satisfy their users with understandable, easy-to-use features. He calls out the OR user experience in scanning procedures that require extra incisions to get information into a system. This convoluted process can be exhausting for patients and even result in prolonged procedures. 

What if systems were able to see patients the same way a physician does? Advanced Scanners believes the issue doesn’t rely on the available technology itself, but on the equipped features they count on. A great feature like a computer vision system could increase the accuracy throughout a procedure and makes a big difference in usability for surgeons and patients.

Listen to this episode and learn why surgical-enabling technologies can evolve by using user experience feedback and improve it in return!

In this episode, Zack Scott, General Partner from Norwest Venture Partners, Ruchita Sinha, General Partner from AV8 Ventures, and Gregory Grunberg, Managing Director from Longitude Capital, share their vision for the future of venture capital investments and how they feel about the trends they’re seeing. In the current economic climate, 2021’s venture boost fell to a more cautious, yet optimistic, investor perspective, focusing on companies that are scaling and that ensure a quicker ROI. These three venture capitalists discuss what technologies they find interesting and why companies like theirs are currently attracted to them.

Nowadays, healthcare venture capital is looking toward medtech solutions that apply AI tools and data management. Greg, Zack, and Ruchita all agree on the importance of these technologies being applied in the improvement of workflows across different platforms and sites of care. They also touch on matters of interest like patient navigation, utilization management, and tech-enabled devices as solutions that investors can find appealing.

These three guests discuss some of the risks the health tech space faces in terms of regulatory obstacles an invention has to overcome to prove its long-term impact. They acknowledge the traditional surgical space is also a field for innovation and give their takes on the types of technology they would like to see inside ORs that enhance interoperability. Finally, Greg, Zack, and Ruchita provide advice for health tech innovators and entrepreneurs to have a clear understanding of the problem they are trying to solve, how they will do so, and what will it cost in order to seem like a viable opportunity for investors in the field.

Listen to this episode and hear from three different VC voices what’s to come in the following years in health tech investments!

In this episode, Dr. Bill Hunter, Founder, President, and CEO of Canary Medical, presents the early interpretation and exciting potential of data taken from implantable prostheses. In this case, the data comes from Zimmer Biomet’s IQ Knee. This product uses a variety of sensors to record a wide array of activity metrics from inside the knee to provide data that might be useful for doctors: step count, cadence, stride length, distance traveled, and gait speed.

The prosthesis counts with a battery that works similarly to a pacemaker’s and a programmed transmitter that provides information several times a day, but not in real-time. It also counts on a recorder that allows physicians to see what is happening inside the knee and identifies movement abnormalities by registering characteristic patterns that can be interpreted by physicians or physiotherapists.

What is the point of this? These types of technologies seek to match physiology to other health problems, especially in post-op TKA patients. Ideally, with a set of parameters and standards, this would be able to determine whether a patient has a normal range of motion or not. The ultimate goal of this technology would be not only to understand gait movements but how abnormalities could be used to trace other issues on the clinical side.

Listen to this episode and learn about the future of implantable data!