In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard with FastTraCS talks to Jackie Quay, Director of Licensing and Innovation Support at the UNC Office of Technology Commercialization, about the basics of technology transfer. Moving good ideas out into the world where they can help others is core to the mission of FastTraCS.  

 

Today’s Topics Include:

Research and Academia: Jackie’s background in biology to law school and tech transfer

Tech Range: Biotech, medical devices, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, software

Tech Transfer: Ask questions, conduct research, and seek answers to solve problems

New Idea Process: Conversations, action, publication, evaluate, and decision

Invention Evaluation: Is it patentable and/or commercializable?

Conflict: Publish research and graduate or commercialize and reveal trade secret

Valley of Death: Most inventions never go far enough down one side to get up other side

Portfolio or Startup? Best or only ways to get invention and technology to move forward

Gap Funding: Pursue manufacturers, universities, nonprofits, and government grants

Team Assembly: COVID may make entrepreneurs/investors consider new technologies

Networking: Find the right people at the right time to de-risk ideas and technologies

 

Links and Resources:

Devin Hubbard

Jackie Quay

CRISPR

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 

Quotes:

“All things tech transfer are driven by the economy.”

“In tech transfer, our goal is to transfer the technology that we developed, so that somebody will pick it up (usually a company) and turn it into a product that somebody can buy.”

“Protecting a trade secret in academia is a problem because if you’re going to publish your work, it’s no longer a trade secret.”

“An awful lot of inventions never make the leap across what’s called the valley of death because they haven’t gone far enough down one side to get up the other side.”

In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard and Nabil Khan with FastTraCS talk about its newest problem discovery technique. The modified sprint technique translates well to video and remote settings because it does not use shadowing.  

 

Today’s Topics Include:

Methodologies: Mining and discovering unmet needs

Medical Device Design: How it’s done at large academic centers

Motivation: Learn effectively from others vs. bridging literacy gap to identify unmet needs

Changes: No shadowing, but sprints featuring engaged providers with domain expertise

Components: Providers, discussion leader, conference room, supplies to capture ideas

Sprint Technique:

Introduce idea and process to participants

Collect names and contact information for attendees

Provide training to introduce concept of unmet need

Identify goal, objectives, and structure for session

Brainstorm for five minutes (no talking allowed to empower providers)

Participants prioritize and rank top three most compelling problems/unmet needs

Provide participants with fixed number of votes to allocate for prioritized problems

Goals: Increase efficiency capturing unmet needs and create new medical technologies

 

Links and Resources:

Devin Hubbard

Nabil Khan

Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz

Google Ventures (GV): The Design Sprint

Miro

Zoom

Ep.6 Dr. Martin Medical Device Innovation as a Provider

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 

Quotes:

Needle in a Haystack: Traditional ways of medical device innovation rely on immersion and/or shadowing.

Power, Influence, Experience: We value diverse perspectives and diverse stakeholders.

Working Alone, Together: Don’t control quality, but quantity of unmet needs and problems.

Sprint: Activity by design is hurried to maximize time with providers and promote quick decision making.

In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard and Gabe Li with FastTraCS talk to Dr. Alan Rosenbaum, the new clinician in residence for FastTraCS. Alan provides a sneak peek into how the FastTraCS program continues medical device innovation in the academic setting.  

 

Today’s Topics Include:

Roles and Responsibilities: Providers need to give clinical perspective

Goal: Assess and reflect on best ways for FastTraCS to use providers to solve problems

Challenges: Knowledge and terminology to be included and integrated

Entrepreneurship Startup Pitfalls: Create crosstalk, not compartmentalize

I- and T-Shaped Teams: Communicate to work together and understand each other

Benefits: Continue to work on biodesign teams to add value in different spheres

“Right” Providers: Medicine is moving toward multidisciplinary teams, ideas, opinions

Technology: How to drive adoption and manage unmet needs

Bias: Based on where innovation begins—hospitals, academic programs, or clinics

Consultation Concerns: Pigeonhole or leverage providers?

 

Links and Resources:

Devin Hubbard

Gabe Li

Dr. Alan Rosenbaum

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 

Quotes:

FastTraCS: Innovate solutions to high-impact unmet medical needs by partnering with providers.

T-Shaped Team: Communicate effectively and build off everyone’s strengths.

What are the right kind of providers? There’s value in more voices rather than few.

There are innovators in all fields of medicine.

In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard and Gabe Li with FastTraCS talk to Dr. Jon Martin from Duke University about his design experience with interventional radiology (IR) procedures, as well as mentoring and coaching medical device innovation teams. 

 

Today’s Topics Include:

Innovative Approach: Solve complex problems by using and evaluating new devices

Championing Collaboration: What can be improved, made more efficient and effective?

Medical Device Design: Innovation driven by like-minded professionals and providers

Learn from Mistakes: Avoid pitfalls by focusing on problem to develop a solution

Education vs. Experience: Medical training may create hostile or necessary environment

Clinical Impact: Consider all potential financial and useful benefits of device innovation

Intellectual Property Ignorance: How business and entrepreneurship should be done

 

Links and Resources:

Devin Hubbard

Gabe Li

Dr. Jon Martin

Medtronic

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 

Quotes:

Innovation is part and parcel with the interventional radiology (IR) field.

Mistakes are invaluable learning opportunities.

Credit Sharing: Check your title at the door and be open to equal contributions of expertise. Be collaborative. Build bridges. Be open minded. Make the most of every opportunity and idea.

In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard and Gabe Li with FastTraCS, along with Dr. Jon Martin from Duke University, discuss unintended and unseen consequences and effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on interventional radiology (IR) practice.

 

Today’s Topics Include: 

COVID-19: Heterogeneous effect on IR practice both nationally and internationally

IR Practice: Encompasses 80 minimally invasive procedures

Procedure Volume: Elective procedures deferred, but emergent/urgent cases continued

Outpatient Procedures: Performed without general anesthesia or admission to hospital

COVID Concerns: People who need care stay at home instead of going to hospital

COVID: IR innovation shifts from what can be done to how to protect patients/providers

Regulatory Pathways: Routes remain to get products on the market

Risk/Benefit Analysis: IR indications and procedures depend on situation/circumstances

Infection Control Challenges: Tech equipment performance not functioning correctly

IR Options: Half-staff with tiered responsibility, telehealth, and education/information

IR Specialty: Opportunity to improve and increase public awareness of procedures

Recommendations: Room for improvement in IR practice by adapting to new paradigm

COVID Response: Share experiences for improved prep/planning to address necessities

Ideal IR: Lightweight, flawless, seamlessly integrated augmented reality glasses that respond to voice commands

 

Links and Resources:

Devin Hubbard

Gabe Li

Dr. Jon Martin

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 

Quotes:

“There’s been a really heterogeneous effect on the practice of interventional radiology.” - Dr. Jon Martin

“The impact of COVID really depends on what category of procedure we’re talking about.” Dr. Jon Martin

“There’s people and individuals that have unstable conditions that may not show up to the hospital when they need to.” - Devin Hubbard

“With COVID-19, there may be some more thinking about approaching things from a societal level and what’s sort of the greatest good for the greatest number.” - Dr. Jon Martin

Have you been practicing social isolation? Don’t panic, and stay safe! In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard and fellow FastTraCS team member, Nabil Khan, talk to UNC Health Care’s hospital medicine experts, Rob Lampman, Nicholas Piazza, Chris Kahl, and Ria Dancel, about anticipated needs related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Today’s Topics Include: 

Primary COVID-19 Concerns: Access to and shortage of PPE and ventilation equipment

Potential Pitfalls: Anticipate long-term hospital medicine needs for patients and providers

Physical Space: How to retrofit existing hospital rooms to care for and contain patients?

Variables and Complications: From mild to severe symptoms, identify high-risk people

Everyday Care vs. Performing Procedures: Preserve PPE to protect workers

Innovative Ideas: Make masks, gowns, tests, and equipment effective and comfortable

Teamwork: Ways for patients and healthcare providers to be cohorts to do more

Logistics and Locations: Be open, available, and refresh skills for other emergencies

Hardest Hit and Weakest Link? Emergency Room (ER)

 Links and Resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

#MedTwitter

Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Learning Portal

Fluid Resuscitation In The Critically Ill Course

Devin Hubbard

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 

Quotes:

How do you prevent and spread infection? Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Rob Lampman

Early Stratification: How can people be identified as being at higher risk? - Nicholas Piazza

“The face shields are a nightmare.” - Chris Kahl

“The fear of running out of PPE is high, and it’s justified.” - Ria Dancel

In this episode of GuideWire, FastTraCS team members Devin Hubbard, Nabil Khan, and Nicole Wiley recall some of their more memorable and embarrassing experiences over the years while working with healthcare providers to identify unmet medical needs. They reflect on how sights, sounds, and smells informed their own practices. 

 Today’s Topics Include:

Purpose: Create relationships with clinicians and innovative medical technologies

Strange Shadowing: Shapes the way they do things now

Shattered Relationship: Irreplaceable and important award comes crashing down

Interview Questions: Stagefright leads to awkward and adorable first impression

Stomach of Steel: First time in OR stapling sternum to ribs while listening to Willie

Hungry for More: Sweet barbecue smell of cauterized flesh

YouTube: Be careful of what you watch; don’t spoil best practices

Prep, not Pester: Know where to go and what to wear (scrubs, ID badges, etc.)

Links and Resources:

Devin Hubbard

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

In this episode of GuideWire, Devin Hubbard and fellow FastTraCS engineers, Nicole Wiley and Nabil Khan, discuss problem discovery techniques they use to identify unmet medical needs. One of their goals at FastTraCS is to not only discover problems, but find them quickly and optimally.

 Today’s Topics Include:

Where to begin? Shadow existing contacts in network and departments of interest

Nicole’s Background:Small-scale medical devices and biomechanics research

Nabil’s Background: Biomedical engineering for medical device and development

Learning Point: Discover, gather, explore, and mine problems before thinking of solutions

How to select a clinician to work with? Find a spark connection—someone who is enthusiastic, energized, and passionate

Pros and Cons of Problem Discovery Techniques: Shadowing, focus groups, and sprint method to identify, track, and solve problems or parts of problems quickly

 Links and Resources:

Sprint by Jake Knapp

Google Ventures

Devin Hubbard

FastTraCS

GuideWire Podcast on Twitter

GuideWire Podcast

 Quotes:

“I was not as attracted to the intangibles, as I was the tangibles.” Nicole Wiley

“Don’t think about solutions first. Try to discover, gather, explore, mine novel problems.” Nabil Khan

“The spark connection is critical.” Nabil Khan

“The best way to get in touch with folks is to work your network.” Devin Hubbard

As a patient, would you prefer a trip to the operating room for major surgery or a minimally invasive procedure? Cheaper, safer, faster.

The younger stage of interventional radiology (IR) attracts us because of its cool gadgets and opportunity for medical device innovation. Today’s guest is Dr. Jessica Stewart from UNC Hospitals. We discuss medical technology innovation in the field of vascular IR. 

 Today’s Topics Include:

What is IR? Minimally invasive procedures using image guidance to treat various disorders/conditions, including vascular abnormalities, women’s health, certain cancers

How IR works from head to toe? Focuses on everything through small incisions in skin

IR Procedures: Everything from handling abscesses and biopsies to pain control

Novel vs. Incremental Medical Device Innovation: No special balloons back in the day for angioplasty and stents

Nimble Ninjas: Pros and cons of IR’s public relations (PR) problem being known for inventing procedures for other specialities

Big Ticket Problems: Challenges with IR continue depending on user experience and clinical needs to pursue solutions

Biodesign vs. Sprints: Mining for unmet clinical needs leads to improved efficiency

Urgent Unmet Needs: Problems with implanted devices and length of time they remain in body can be a death sentence 

Links and Resources:

Dr. Jessica Stewart

Angioplasty

Balloon Expandable Stent

Charles Theodore Dotter: The Father of Intervention

Devin Hubbard

FastTraCS

Guidewire

Here’s a sneak peek of GuideWire—a direct line to medical device innovation. Hosted by Devin Hubbard, lead design engineer for FastTraCS, the GuideWire Podcast will launch on March 1, 2020. Until then, enjoy a special audio clip featuring some of our funny experiences while shadowing and finding unmet medical needs.