Scott Nelson Live

In this episode, 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 of industry partnerships, and the challenges he faced pursuing an IPO.

In this episode, 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.

In this episode, 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.

In this episode, 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.

In this episode, 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.

In this episode, we sat down with Mike Dineen, co-founder and CEO of Tioga Cardiovascular, a Shifamed portfolio company. Tioga is developing a minimally invasive transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) device to address mitral regurgitation (MR) - a condition where blood flows backward into the heart, often causing heart failure.

Mike has 30 years of experience in leading and scaling innovative medical device startups, and is co-inventor on more than 65 patents. His track record encompasses leadership roles at Kalila Medical (acquired by Abbott and later divested to Terumo), Maya Medical (acquired by Covidien), and Aspire Medical (acquired by Philips/Respironics).

In this interview, Mike discusses why engaging with physicians early is essential and what he prioritizes in those conversations, the importance of pushing for early pre-clinical testing and how to best approach it, and his strategy for raising capital by targeting early-stage investors with a clear, exit-focused plan.

In this episode, we sat down with Jennifer Fried, co-founder and CEO of Flow Medical. Her startup is developing an advanced catheter designed to treat pulmonary embolisms.

Jennifer started her career as a healthcare venture capitalist and consultant at Bain & Company. Before co-founding Flow Medical, Jennifer was the CEO and co-founder of ExplORer Surgical, a surgical software platform spun out of research at The University of Chicago. Under her leadership, ExplORer grew from an idea to a global product, earning accolades, like being named one of the Top 50 Healthcare Technology CEOs, and partnerships with major medical device companies. Jennifer successfully exited the business in 2021, when it was acquired by GHX.

In this interview, Jennifer shares insights on navigating M&As, raising capital, and tips for validating ideas. She explains why engaging early with potential acquirers is key, how challenging your assumptions can save years of effort, and the importance of tailoring your pitch and building lasting investor relationships.

In this episode, we sat down with Brent Ness, President and CEO of Aclarion, a startup developing a decision-support tool designed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of chronic low back pain. 

Brent has over 28 years of experience in medtech. Before Aclarion, he led Cleerly as President & CCO, driving the adoption of their AI cardiology solution through strategic partnerships. As COO of Mighty Oak Medical, he guided their FIREFLY spine navigation platform from FDA clearance to international launch. At HeartFlow, Brent spearheaded the global expansion of their image-based SaaS solution, and at Medtronic, he led the acquisition and rollout of the O-Arm technology. His career also includes leadership roles at GE Healthcare, Philips North America, and ProNerve.

In this interview, Brent shares his approach to reimbursement, why continuing to prove your technology is crucial (even after regulatory approval), and how to effectively engage with KOLs for optimal support.

In this episode, we sat down with James Reinstein, President and CEO of Conformal Medical, a company developing a foam device that seals the left atrial appendage (LAA) to reduce the risk of stroke without anticoagulants. 

James has over 30 years of experience in the medical device industry. He’s held executive roles across multiple companies, including Saranas, Cutera, Drawbridge Health, and Aptus Endosystems (acquired by Medtronic). Earlier in his career, he served as Senior VP and Chief Commercial Officer at Cyberonics (now LivaNova) and as Vice President of Boston Scientific’s Asia region.

In this interview, James discusses choosing the right market, simplifying workflows to drive adoption, and balancing clinical focus with early commercialization planning. He also offers fundraising insights, including planning for long-term events like IPOs.

In this episode, we had a great chat with Rafaël Michali and Renato Circi, co-founders of SAVA, a London-based biotechnology startup developing a novel biosensing platform to monitor molecules just below the skin in real time.

Rafaël and Renato are biomedical engineers from Imperial College London. Both recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list as some of Europe’s most promising young innovators in 2018, the duo raised $13M in funding and built a cross-functional team of now over 40 to develop a next-generation biosensing platform. Together, they built a thesis surrounding preventative health, from which SAVA was formed: redefining healthcare into a system that is accessible, personalized, and preventative.

In this interview, they talk about the value of identifying a large market with substantial opportunity, how they moved rapidly through development iterations, the right time to exit stealth mode, and the complexities of building a medical device.