Do you have to come close to death to invent a groundbreaking medical device?

That’s certainly not something we would wish upon every medtech entrepreneur.

But it is the story of Shavini Fernando and the connected earring OxiWear that she developed.

Shavini lives with Eisenmenger syndrome, a condition where the two ventricles of her heart communicate.

This condition dramatically increases the pressure in her pulmonary vasculature and severely limits the oxygen carried in her blood.

It’s a critical situation that has already caused her four cardiac arrests and three strokes, all of which she has survived.

Constantly reliant on supplemental oxygen to live, she dreamed of a way to measure her oxygen levels in real time while staying active.

This would allow her to anticipate sudden variations in the future and the life-threatening risks they bring.

And she made that dream come true by creating the first connected earring, FDA-certified, capable of measuring blood oxygen saturation in real time.

All in a discreet format, lighter than an AirPod, and designed for use during everyday activities, including sports.

In many ways, this innovation has transformed her own life, as well as those of hundreds of patients who have benefited from it so far.

In this episode, we revisit her story as a patient and survivor.

Shavini opens up about the immense challenges of living with Eisenmenger syndrome and developing OxiWear, sharing her vision for this technology and the potential it holds for the future of cardiorespiratory monitoring.

A touching and sincere conversation with a truly exceptional figure in the healthtech ecosystem!

Timeline:

What we also talked about with Shavini:

As we mentioned during the episode, you can watch here the recording of the panel I hosted alongside Shavini at MedTech World in 2024.

As Shavini shared in the episode, you can learn more about OxiWear at Oxiwear.com and [Oxiwear.fitness](http://Oxiwear.fitnesshttps://www.oxiwear.fitness/).

Although we did not explicitly talk about it, I also recommend you watch Shavini’s TEDx Talk recorded in 2019.

You can follow OxiWear’s activities on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, TikTok, and get in touch with Shavini via LinkedIn too!

✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!

⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms!

🙏 You can also support my work by doing a PayPal donation @ImpulsePodcast!

👍 Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#45 - Measuring oxygen with a smart earring - Shavini Fernando - OxiWear" on your preferred streaming platform.

One of the greatest fantasies in medicine is to one day be able to offer any patient a therapy perfectly adapted to their profile and needs.

A "personalized" medicine.

The term was introduced to the public in 1999 through an article in The Wall Street Journal titled "New Era of Personalized Medicine: Targeting Drugs for Each Unique Genetic Profile."

The enthusiasm for these next-generation therapies was fueled by advances in DNA sequencing, which hinted at future discoveries in genomics and rapid progress in medicine.

Twenty-five years later, it is clear that personalized medicine has become a reality (e.g., for the treatment of cancer or rare diseases), and technological progress continues to bring us closer to this ideal.

But while developing new personalized therapies is one approach, identifying the most effective current therapies for each patient is another, equally powerful one.

And thanks to the multimodal analysis capabilities enabled by AI, this field is rapidly expanding.

Andre Esteva is one of the pioneers in this area, having significantly advanced medical research in this direction before venturing into entrepreneurship to make this technology available broadly.

In less than three years, his company Artera has already achieved many things that most healthtech startups take much longer to reach:

In this episode, Andre shares his vision of predictive medicine in the AI era, the potential of this technology for complex diseases such as cancer, and the keys to their success and recognition on the international medical scene!

Timeline:

What we also talked about with Andre:

We cited with Andre some of the past episodes of the series:

As Andre mentioned during the episode, you can read their landmark paper published in npj Digital Medicine in 2021 to dive deeper into the technology they have developed.

For further information about Artera’s publications and all the scientific work they do, take a look at the News & Insights section of their website.

You can follow Artera’s activities on LinkedIn and X, and get in touch with Andre via LinkedIn!

If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!

And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏

There’s now a bi-monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and kept posted on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!

Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#44 - Predicting cancer treatment response - Andre Esteva - Artera" on your preferred streaming platform.

According to the WHO, unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of avoidable harm in health systems across the globe.

In the European Union alone, this translates to nearly 200,000 deaths annually.

The magnitude of this problem has led to global initiatives such as "Medication Without Harm," launched in 2017, aiming to reduce medical errors by 50% over five years.

Although there is a need for more data on the results of this initiative, we are far from having reached the goal.

The key lies in our ability to access medical information, specifically related to prescriptions.

Direct access to reliable information, accounting for individual patient characteristics, and able to fit with the tools used by healthcare professionals.

A next-generation medical database, incorporating all known information about medications in structured and interoperable bricks capable of supporting caregivers in safer and more effective prescribing practices.

It turns out this database exists and has been developed by Pharmacist Emmanuel Bilbault and his team at Posos!

Approved less than a year ago by French health authorities, it offers a new perspective on how to approach medical prescriptions in the era of AI and digital health.

A way to give back time to every healthcare professional and ensure an unprecedented level of care quality for patients.

We talked with Emmanuel about the creation of this new tool - used today by more than 85,000 healthcare professionals in Europe - and what it changes in our fight against medical errors.

Timeline:

What we also talked about with Emmanuel:

We cited with Emmanuel some of the past episodes of the series:

• #1 - Measuring your arterial age to prevent heart diseases - Ted Baldwin - Imageens

As mentioned by Emmanuel during the episode, we recommend taking a look at this page to learn more about the SNOMED CT clinical terminology, as the most comprehensive, multilingual clinical healthcare terminology in the world.

You can follow Posos’ activities on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, and get in touch with Emmanuel via LinkedIn!

If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!

And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏

There’s now a bi-monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and kept posted on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!

Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#43 - Rethinking medical prescriptions to save lives - Emmanuel Bilbault - Posos" on your preferred streaming platform.

What will the future of surgery look like?

According to Dr. George Papagiannakis, we must count on virtual simulation.

After all, simulators are an integral part of professional training in highly demanding fields like aviation or F1. So why not medicine?

The approach might seem futuristic, but George and his team at ORamaVR share a vision that makes a lot of sense.

Integrating extended reality in surgery means increasing the volume of hours spent operating.

It means preparing each surgery on a virtual patient with properties close to the real case.

It means simulating complications and unforeseen situations safely.

And it means reducing the risk of errors in the real world.

Following his motto "never first time with the real patient", George immerses us in the universe of extended reality and reveals its potential for medicine and surgery.

What is extended reality?

What makes a good virtual medical simulation?

And what is the impact of this technology today and in the future?

Many questions that George addresses with passion and enthusiasm, in a conversation reminiscent of Ready Player One!

Timeline:

What we also talked about with George:

We cited with George some of the past episodes of the series:

As mentioned by George during the episode, we recommend taking a look at some of the simulations available on the official YouTube channel of ORamaVR, it will bring to life many aspects that we discuss in the episode!

You can follow ORamaVR’s activities on LinkedIn, Instagram, and get in touch with George via LinkedIn!

If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!

And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏

There’s now a bi-monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and kept posted on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!

Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#42 - Extending reality to transform surgery - George Papagiannakis - ORamaVR" on your preferred streaming platform.

Our gut contains a world of microorganisms that impact many aspects of our health, well beyond the gastrointestinal system.

In fact, more than 30 trillion bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses live in the digestive tract of every human, a number that is higher than the number of human cells that make up our body!

Each microbiome is unique to an individual, and its genetic heritage represents approximately 100 times that of the human genome.

This field is fascinating and science is advancing rapidly, as evidenced by the 2,000 publications generated monthly on the subject.

A better understanding of this remarkable ecosystem might bring critical answers to address numerous pathologies and health disorders.

This is the mission of Leo Grady and his team at Jona, whose technology enables microbiome analysis based on an at-home test, combined with artificial intelligence to reveal what the current literature says about each person's microbiome.

Unveiling the propensity for certain disease risks, along with individual nutritional preferences, Jona can model the body's reaction according to potential changes in the microbiome, and provide valuable insights on behaviors and nutrition that can ultimately improve one’s health.

A dive into the heart of the microbiome and its secrets, which today's technology is about to unlock!

Timeline:

What we also talked about with Leo:

We cited with Leo some of the past episodes of the series:

As mentioned by Leo during the episode, we recommend looking at the Jona Journal which sheds light on the latest findings on the microbiome fueled by their research platform, and understanding the current literature.

Leo also recommends listening to The Mind-Gut Conversation Podcast by Emeran Meyer to find out more, and We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra as a complementary read.

You can follow Jona’s activities on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube, and get in touch with Leo via LinkedIn.

If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!

And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏

There’s now a bi-monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and kept posted on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!

Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#41 - Making sense of the gut microbiome - Leo Grady - Jona" on your preferred streaming platform.