Imagine if Stephen Hawking couldn't communicate. The world's understanding of theoretical physics would be greatly limited. There are roughly half a billion people like Stephen Hawking who are just waiting for an awakening. They could communicate and contribute if they only had the technology to do so. 

Helping these people with either motor or cognitive limitations be able to communicate is part of the big mission of Andreas Forsland, Founder and CEO at Cognixion. 

Andreas has a robust background in hardware, software, and design. That background all converged when his mother was in the hospital struggling to communicate to healthcare providers. The idea for Cognixion was then born. 

Cognixion is a digital health startup based in Santa Barbara, California and Toronto, Ontario. Cognixion builds accessible and affordable neuroprosthetic software and wearables that use biometric sensors and machine learning in new ways to help people with complex disabilities use their face, eyes and brain as a direct control interface for mobile and augmented reality accessibility. 

Imagine controlling Alexa with your brain. Mind blown!

Cognixion is the "Tesla of Neurotech" and is recognized as a top 21 neurotech startup to watch, and is focused on scaling up the transformation of over 100 million lives and translating universal design approaches for everyone by focusing on the most challenging human interaction needs. 

Show notes:

• Andreas on LinkedIn
• www.cognixion.com
• Cognixion Press Kit

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Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

Today, we're introducing a new type of episode called Quality Quick Tips.  

Periodically we'll focus on specific aspects of quality management since we love to nerd out on all things quality and compliance. Call us weird. Call us what you want, but quality management is what we love to do. And we do it well ...so why not have some fun along the way! 

Today, two of Qualio's QA experts, Kelly and Ezra talk about how to maintain and improve your quality management while working remotely. It was a conversation that they had in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, but it still applies today.  

As many organizations are still adjusting to a new normal of remote quality work, they cover important aspects like what questions to ask to better evaluate and prioritize tasks, the what and how to communicate about quality issues, how to manage remote audits, the importance of documentation all of these changes that are happening. Internal and external factors and a lot more. Building and improving a culture of quality at your company can be done either remote or in person, and this episode can help you show how that's done. 

Music by: keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

Cables are everywhere, quite literally. Quality management for a cable testing company can be challenging, especially with continuous audits from partners, but Gene Vought makes it look easy.

Gene is a quality manager at Cirris and has been with the company for over 25 years. Cirris designs manufacturers, worldwide sales, service, and technical support for cable testing equipment for manufacturers of cable assemblies, wire harnesses, custom fixtures, and other interconnection products.

Ambition and a desire to serve customers have placed cable testers in the hands of thousands of customers on every continent, even including Antarctica. People all over the world rely on Cirris when they test cables that helped drive cars, heal patients, defend soldiers and even launched satellites into space.

Gene has an impressive track record and background, and we're really excited to have the opportunity to speak with him today. I think you'll really enjoy this episode because we talk about his experience in the aerospace industry,  his experienced at Cirris and the life sciences industry and his role as a quality manager and how important that is to the success of the company.

Also kind of fun what he enjoys to do outside of work. Hope you enjoy.

Show notes:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-vought-57196b20/
• https://www.cirris.com/
• http://www.genevought.com/ 

Music by keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

Did you know about $6 billion is spent each year in medical device recall management?

Having a product recall is probably a medical device companies, worst nightmare, but once something gets recalled, the communication between the FDA and manufacturers and healthcare facilities, all involved in the workflow of that product ,often break down or are slow to respond. This results in patients becoming highly at risk. 

To solve this, Joan created Xcelrate UDI with a goal to improve patient safety at the point of care, by leveraging the power of the unique device identification system for medical devices and biological tissues. 

Xcelrate UDI uses innovative barcode scanning technology to capture the data required by the FDA and digitally document. The patient health record with precision and accuracy.
Joan has over 25 years building and optimizing healthcare applications specializing in perioperative, anesthesia, and trauma workflows.

She shares some great insights with us today by starting a couple of, with a big mission. And it was an 800% increase in recalls in recent years, a byproduct of companies increasingly moving faster in this space over time, there has never been a more important time than now to focus on quality and alerting and patient safety.

Show notes:

• https://www.xcelrateudi.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/xcelrate-udi/

Music by keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

Getting funding and scaling a medical device business alone is challenging. But challenges don't deter entrepreneurs like Jen Baird. From being disregarded at first from VCs  simply because she was a woman, to then selling her company for $205M,  to today scaling a med device startup with a denovo FDA application, Jen has done it all! If that's not impressive enough, she takes time to write her insights as a startup CEO in her personal blog. 

Jen has founded and led multiple healthcare ventures. Her most successful company to date was Accuri Cytometers which Jen led from inception to global commercialization. She raised over $30 million in angel and venture capital financing, developed a product and achieved more than $12 million in annual sales in just five years. In 2011, Accuri was sold to Becton Dickinson for $205 million, which is a 10X revenue multiple and Jen generated, or a 5X return for her investors. 

Most recently, Jen raised an $11.5 million Series A to found and build Fifth Eye, a medical device software company that detects hemodynamic status from a single streaming lead of ECG. Her career also includes stints in commercial banking, management consulting, and several other previous startups. Jen graduated at the top of her class with a master's in management, from Northwestern University's Kellogg graduate school of management and earned a BA in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan. 

For everyone who's listening and in the trenches of building a life sciences company, Jen has been there many times and has had some incredible exits. 

I hope you enjoy listening and learning from her wisdom and experience. 

Show notes:

• www.FifthEye.com
• Jen's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jenbaird
• Jen's blog:  www.StartupCEOReflections.com 

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

Did you know nurses are required to turn and change bed-bound patients every two hours?  The primary reason for this protocol is to help patients avoid pressure ulcers. At first glance, that seems like a straightforward and quick task. But it's actually quite a challenge, especially when nurses are short-handed. The traditional approach of turning patients is time consuming and prone to injuring nurses. 

The problem has serious financial healthcare costs as well with $250 billion spent each year on nursing injuries and pressure ulcers. 

Charleen Solomon, a nurse herself, thought of a solution one day when her sweater got caught in the door of her car. Her back was aching from turning a hospice patient that day and her 2nd shift was about to start when she had a lightning moment of inspiration to what would lead to her Q2 Solution. 

Charleen shares her journey from prototyping with fellow nurses, selling her house to have capital, seeking investment (and being rejected 200 times), to finding the right manufacturer, to a very successful product today with contracts with some of the biggest in healthcare. 

She knew the product worked from first-hand experience. Her tenacity, purpose, and gratitude are inspiring for any entrepreneur starting their own life science company. 

Notes:

• ariseq2.com
• Charleen on LinkedIn

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Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

Gillian Berry is a qualified clinical nurse specialist and founder of PerCen Technologies. She founded PerCen Technologies in response to challenges she felt were not addressed in Healthcare. It’s aim is to use scientific knowledge and the latest technologies to compliment clinical evidence based practice. PerCen Technologies is supported by the first national Health Innovation Hub of Ireland. 

We love seeing healthcare innovation coming out of Ireland, so we had to talk to Gill.  ;) 

Gill shares her takeaways after co-founding one of the first open source efforts in response to the Covid19 pandemic, the Open Source ventilator project and the Open Source Volunteers Extended network. She managed over 1,000 STEM  professional volunteers, academic institutions, SME’s and Multi-National’s and facilitated 30 projects with a transfer of knowledge and skills. 

It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we network, open source ideas, and collaborate together. Gillian’s story and lessons learned about the power of a network are certainly inspiring and applicable today.

Enjoy!

Show notes

• https://www.teamosv.com/osvx/
• Gill's LinkedIn

Music by keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

For the first time in healthcare, human ambition and technology are starting to intersect and AI is one of the main drivers. Listen in on this episode with Sam Dribin to learn about how AI is evolving to improve healthcare results. 

 Sam Dribin is the Chief Technology Officer for CureMetrix, an AI company focused on solutions that support radiology.

Sam has a diverse background in technology including Biotech software development with expertise in the technical issues facing healthcare and life science companies and laboratories.

For the last five years, he’s been on the forefront evolving artificial intelligence with solutions that are focused on AI-based mammography to improve cancer detection. 

We’ve known Sam and CureMetrix for some time as a customer of Qualio, but today he shares his insight into how AI can impact healthcare such as reducing false-positives and increasing access to healthcare everywhere.

Show notes: 

• https://curemetrix.com/
• Sam Dribin's LinkedIn
• Radiology Society of North America

Music:
keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez

The story behind HAI Solutions is so inspiring and similar to many life science entrepreneurs who start their companies after personal (and occasionally tragic) experiences.

Nick Perrenoud is one of those entrepreneurs. He's the co-founder of HAI Solutions and led the development and patent for a solution to protect patients from the accidental or negligent contamination of IV anesthesia medications.

Nick learned the importance of protecting patients with sterile IVs, not only as a nurse anesthetist, but also when caring for his adopted son who required IVs for seven years and spent nearly three years in the hospital to, to central line infections. 

He shares many useful insights for any medical device entrepreneur such as how securing patents has helped with fundraising, focusing on your purpose, and being patient-driven. 

Enjoy!

Show notes: 

• https://www.hai-solutions.com/
• HAI Solutions Story
• Nick Perrenoud's LinkedIn

Music:
keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

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Listen to this chat between Qualio CEO, Robert Fenton and Claire Bonaci from Microsoft about how the life science industry is evolving.  We cover a wide of topics and trends based on her expertise and how she aspires to inspire young women interested in STEM and leadership roles.


Guest Bio:
Claire currently serves as Sr. Director of the Pharma sub vertical of the US Health & Life Sciences department at Microsoft. She works in partnership with US life science companies, pharma, and health organizations to create innovative Microsoft solutions specific to the company’s issues affecting their patients and their business.

She brings with her an expertise in the clinical trial and pharmaceutical industry, having been a global study lead on oncology clinical trials at a large pharmaceutical company prior to joining Microsoft. She has deep understanding of the clinical trial value chain and the complex nuances that biotechnology and life science companies experience. She is passionate about the many services and innovations Microsoft has to offer to reduce time to market for new drugs and provide better outcomes to patients.

Claire is also the producer and host of the Confessions of Health Geeks podcast, an industry focused podcast on the biggest trends and pain points in health and life sciences. Claire also has a passion for inspiring young women to be interested in STEM and leadership roles in STEM related fields. 

Show notes: 

• https://healthpodcastnetwork.com/show/confessions-of-health-geeks/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairebonaci/
• https://entrepreneur.m12.vc/submit
• https://steveblank.com/2013/08/20/reinventing-life-science-startups-medical-devices-and-digital-health/ 

Music by keldez

Qualio website:
https://www.qualio.com/

Previous episodes:
https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast

Apply to be on the show:
https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8

Music by keldez