How It’s Med

Dermatology isn’t just lotions and potions 🧙; it’s more about AI, equity, and a patient-led healthcare than you think. 🤯 Welcome back to this episode of How Its Med. This time, Geoff’s joined by Dr. Art Papier, artist 🧑‍🎨 and printmaker, dermatologist, and co-founder and CEO of VisualDx. This conversation wasn’t only skin-deep, though; we talked about the origins of the company in medical informatics 🤖, the disappointing pace of the advance of the field, and what VisualDx hopes to do to change it all. Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page Timestamps 02:30-04:20 - Art’s journey into dermatology. 04:21-11:24 - The what, the when and the how of medical informatics. 11:25-14:58 - The state of medical informatics (hint: it’s nowhere near where it should be). 14:59-17:24 - Art’s vision for the field of medical informatics. 17:25-26:29 - The story of the inception and purpose of VisualDx. 26:30-30:18 - Art’s explanation and discussion of the architecture behind VisualDx.  

What do engineers have to do with drug discovery and development, a job which primarily employs chemists, biologists and clinical researchers? How does Vial aim to transform the ways of drug discovery and clinical trials? And how will AI help in all of this? Welcome to part two of our conversation with Miguel Testa on Med Tech Talks. As we delve deeper into Vial’s work and Miguel’s role at the company, we find out the answers to our questions above, and some more! Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page Timestamps 01:30-05:44 - How does a company with a primarily engineering base venture into drug discovery and development? 05:45-07:49 - Vertical integration in the drug discovery process. 07:50-10:04 - The future of outsourcing processes in the wake of rapidly advancing technologies. 10:05-13:18 - Comparing Vial with other companies doing similar work in the drug discovery space. 13:19-18:41 - What does AI bring to clinical trials? 18:42-23:48 - Miguel explains how his role at Vial has changed over time, and his advice for people starting out in their careers. 23:49-24:42 - Now hiring at Vial!

Pursuing an engineering degree and ending up working at a clinical trial software company. That’s the short version of Miguel Testa’s professional journey. Welcome to a new episode of Med Tech Talks. This week, we sit down to talk with Miguel Testa, former VP of Engineering at Vial. Learn more about how a clinical trial software company works, what are the challenges of leading a cross-disciplinary team and how drug development can be augmented with advancing technology. Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page Timestamps 01:07-02:35 - What to teletubbies and babies have in common? 03:21-04:40 - Miguel’s pull towards engineering. 04:41-06:23 - Working at Vial, and foraying into entrepreneurship. 06:24-09:33 - What does Vial really do? 09:34-14:47 - Miguel’s approach towards problem solving, and the problems that he encounters in building a clinical trials software. 14:48-20:11 - Leading an inter-disciplinary team, it’s challenges and how to overcome them. 20:12-24:23 - Building beyond Vial and developing drugs at Battery Bio.

Last time, we talked about the beginnings of Mohamed’s incredible journey into medicine. From there on, he’s come a long way to where he is today, lowering the day-to-day workload of physicians across Canada. Welcome to the second part of our conversation with Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia on Med Tech Talks. Learn more about the procurement process of new technologies in the healthcare system in Canada, and why we need more innovation procurement coming from start-ups across the country. Also find out how a family of bots is reducing physician burnout and making administrative work for physicians a hassle-free task. Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page Timestamps 01:45-03:19 - Getting the tech to the people for whom it’s made; the physicians. 03:20-05:57 - Why is procurement of new technology so difficult? 05:59-07:38 - Anybody feel like having some pizza?🍕 07:39-12:38 - Meet the bot family that’s making physicians’ work easier. 12:38-15:27 - Involving the physicians in solving problems that they themselves are facing. 15:28-19:38 - Improving the entire tech procurement process, and involving more start-ups for the same. 19:39-21:20 - Will med-tech devices and bots blend into the healthcare system?

From his background in biochemistry and computer science to his motivation for studying medicine, to building the eHealth Centre of Excellence, Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia is no short of stories. This time around, we chat with Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, the CEO of the eHealth Centre of Excellence and currently also serving on the Board of Directors of Digital Health Canada. Geoff and Mohamed talk about the reasons Mohamed got into the field of medicine, the importance of clinical trials and success and failures in the digital health space. Discover more episodes at - https://plinkhq.com/i/1518370407?to=page Timestamps 01:47-02:44 - Weather and work-flow. 02:45-04:30 - Family background as the impetus to pursue the field of medicine. 04:30-05:43 - Why med-tech specifically? 05:44-07:39 - The landscape of the digital health space when Mohamed entered the field. 07:40-11:20 - Starting out with the goal of making healthcare more personal, and how digital health has made that possible over the years. 11:21-12:55 - The importance of diligent healthcare assessment in clinical trials. 12:55-16:52 - Learning lessons from his experiences, Mohamed talks about founding the eHealth Centre of Excellence. 16:53-18:09 - Why do majority of health-tech initiatives fail? 18:10-21:20 - Building the eHealth Centre of Excellence in a public service role instead of going for the start-up route.

Engineers vs. Doctors. Is it actually that big of a conflict? Geof Auchinleck certainly does not agree. According to him, the two professions need to work very closely together for the increment of the healthcare system at large. On part 2 of Med Tech Talks with Geof Auchinleck, he and our Geoff discuss his professional journey as a biomedical engineer, how he came to co-found Claris Healthcare, and the impact that it aims to create in countries with ageing populations. Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/ Timestamps 02:04-03:38 - Did the involvement of engineers ever irk the physicians? Geof gives his honest opinion about it. 03:39-04:38 - Geof’s “scotch-less” definition of biomedical engineering, for a five-year-old. 04:39-06:32 - The level of involvement of physicians in the process of biomedical engineers to improve the healthcare system. 06:35-08:03 - Geof’s professional journey- from Neoteric to retirement, and then coming out of retirement and founding Claris Healthcare. 08:04-14:52 - The innovative story of Claris Healthcare, from the co-founder himself. 14:53-16:19 - Geof explains the business behind Claris, and all it’s creativity to keep seniors informed about their health. 16:20-18:55 - Geof tells us about the personal gratification and his moments of pride in his line of work. 18:57-21:15 - One eye on the future - Geof’s intrigue with AI and its impact in the years to come.

Robots🤖 in surgery🩺 is a pretty normal thing now. But what about when they were introduced to the healthcare industry? How did it happen? And how has technology, as a whole, impacted the healthcare industry? On this episode of Med Tech Talks, we sit down with Geof Auchinleck, the co-founder and CEO of Claris Healthcare, and find out the answers to the questions above. Geof, “the barcode guy”, shares his stories from the 70s and 80s and sheds light on how far the healthcare industry has come since the introduction of technology. Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/ Timestamps 01:59-04:28 - First love, first job, first step towards the medical device field. 04:30-05:48 - Biomedical engineering then vs. biomedical engineering now, in the words of Geof. 05:49-08:57 - Geof’s first ever project - robots in surgery, and the story behind it. 08:58-11:00 - The surgeons’ reactions to that robot, and other snippets from that historic feat of technology. 11:04-13:29 - Geof remembers his favourite projects and inventions over the years. 13:30-15:45 - Geof’s fascination with barcodes. 15:45-18:45 - The challenges and difficulties in the field of healthcare, and how Geof tackled them. 18:46-21:07 - How technological advancements have revolutionized the healthcare industry, and Geof explains how things used to be like back in the 70s and 80s.

Like a phoenix arising out of a heap of ashes, the metaphorical equivalent of that is the birth of a robust and dynamic healthcare system from a heap of paper records buried somewhere in a hospital in South Africa. That is the short version of the evolution of T6 Health Systems. On part 2 of this episode of Med Tech Talks with Morad Hameed, we delve deeper into his professional life, as Geoffrey Ching chats more about T6 Health Systems, a boisterous health system, built exclusively for trauma patients. The inspiration, the stories, the failures, the successes; we get to know about them all. Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/ Timestamps 01:55-03:04 - What's the deal with T6 Health Systems? Morad breaks it down in just about 30 seconds! 03:05-08:03 - Where injuries and geography collide, Morad's research journey to South Africa begins. 08:03-09:40 - The birth of T6: a story buried under an enormous archive of paper records tucked away in South Africa.. 09:41-12:18 - T6 and their colossal data collection, transforming the lives of trauma patients. 12:19-17:18 - Morad's juggling act: trauma surgery, teaching, and launching a start-up from scratch. 17:18-20:15 - The most cliched, yet the most important takeaway - Learning from your failures; be it surgery or business. 20:16-22:12 - Defining success within the framework of T6 Health Systems 22:13-24:43 - Morad's expertise as a trauma surgeon and in public health applies to his work at T6 as well, displaying their cross-applicability.

While trauma care and public health may not initially appear inter-related, Dr. Morad convincingly elaborates how they are. On the first part of this week's Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey Ching engages with Dr. Morad Hameed, trauma surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital, and also the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of T6 Health Systems. Their discussion spans a wide array of topics, including Morad's formative experiences in the medical field, his academic pursuits during his Master of Public Health (MPH) studies, and the evolution of general surgery over the years. Discover more at - https://www.howitsmed.com/ Timestamps 02:05-03:30 - Morad recounts the inspiring tale of his greatest role model, his aunt. 03:30-06:36 - Why choose medicine? And particularly, why surgery? 06:37-09:22 - Morad's aspiration to contribute to public health and how that influenced his decision to pursue trauma surgery while also obtaining an MPH. 09:22-11:48 - Drawing inspiration to link clinical surgery with public health through the insights of his MPH professor. 11:49-15:49 - Recognizing the crucial intersection of clinical medicine and public health, with trauma care specialists playing a significant role in this synergy. 15:50-21:25 - Morad elaborates on the concept of the three waves of innovation in the field of surgery. 21:25-24:25 - The formation of "Learning Health Systems" through medical innovations and their impact on practical real-world outcomes.

Are robots going to take our jobs?🤖 Welcome back to the second part of our conversation with Michele Marzola, the co-founder and CEO of XSurgical Robotics. This time, Geoffrey gets into the nitty-gritties of Michele’s work, and how surgical robotics, instead of their perceived idea of taking away human jobs, are in reality facilitating much better outcomes, in the context of assisting surgeons to perform complicated surgeries with much enhanced precision now. Geoff and Michele also discuss the future of XSurgical, and healthcare investments at large. Timestamps 01:32-04:13 - Developing the surgical robot is a mammoth task, and Michele explains why. 04:14-08:34 - XSurgical Robots being deployed in a military base camp at a battlefield. 08:33-11:24 - The varied uses of XSurgical’s product; from soft-tissue surgery to performing a knee-replacement surgery. 11:25-14:20 - How various surgeons have reacted to the robots performing their job. 14:21-18:45 - Michele’s two-pronged approach towards where and what he invests in - life sciences and medical devices vs. digital healthcare and diagnostics. 18:46-23:25 - Michele talks about a few projects he’s currently invested in that he thinks are potential gamechangers. 23:26-25:25 - Future projects that Michele has his eyes on, and his money ready to put in.

Taking a robot from a spaceship🚀 and employing it in a surgery🏥 Welcome to this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks. This time, we chat with Michele Marzola, an engineer, an MBA, an ex-consultant, and now a life-sciences investor. Michele is a co-founder of XSurgical Robotics, a company that specializes in building robots for surgery. Geoff and Michele talk at length about Michele’s early days at IBM, his foray into investment and how this concept of democratized surgical robotics developed from inception to where it is today. Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com Find us on Twitter! Timestamps 01:00-02:36 - The motivation to become a life-sciences investor. 03:02-06:58 - A lifelong multitasker, Michele talks about his early days in consulting, and how life-science investing happened. 07:00-09:15 - Bringing into life sciences his experience from previous roles as a consultant, and how the two differ in practice. 09:16-11:43 - Michele’s most memorable projects at IBM. 11:44-14:18 - Working with scientific professionals for the first time. 14:19-18:17 - The inception of XSurgical Robotics; how a NASA mission inspired Michele to build robots for surgery. 18:18-22:45 - Michele stresses on the need for democratization of surgical robotics. 22:48-25:34 - Using AI to reduce the time-lag for surgeries happening concurrently on two different continents. 25:35-29:44 - Making the choice to have their platform open to all: does it pose a risk to profitability?

Two health-tech bros, talking nerd stuff. That is basically what this episode is. Welcome back to our conversation with Rishad Usmani MD, founder of HealthTech Investors. On this week’s Med Tech Talks, Geoffrey and Rishad get technical. Really, really, technical. From ROIs to hybrid healthcare models to epigenetics, it’s a wild ride throughout the episode. Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com Find us on Twitter! Timestamps 01:34-04:51 - How Rishad got into healthcare angel investing. 04:52-10:08 - Building an “angel syndicate” with co-physicians. 10:10-12:16 - Rishad tells us about the recently concluded Pitch Competition. 12:17-17:14 - “A digital front door leading to a hybrid home care model for healthcare delivery.” : An explainer. 17:15-20:02 - Tackling burnout in physicians, and taking on the financial ramifications of it at the same time. 20:02-23:42 - Rishad solves Geoffrey’s dilemma about the two-pronged nature of achieving tangible financial ROIs whilst mitigating physician burnout. 23:42-25:17 - The importance of community building in healthcare. 25:18-28:28 - Employing epigenetics in the development of targeted medicine and facilitate disease reversal.

It’s difficult enough focusing on one thing to do, let alone four. But somehow Rishad manages to do it really really well and with quite some ease. Welcome to part one of this week’s episode of Med Tech Talks. This time, we chat with Rishad Usmani, who is a doctor, a start-up founder, an investor, a podcaster, and so much more. Rishad has had quite an eventful journey so far, about which he talks at length with our host, Geoffrey Ching. Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com Find us on Twitter! Timestamps 00:58-02:32 - Two podcasters in a (meeting) room. 03:32-14:04 - Rishad takes us down the road through his educational and professional journey, and it is some ride. 14:05-18:43 - How an inherent dissatisfaction with the systems in place led to the formation of ClinicUp. 18:44-22:17 - The rise of ClinicUp, the roadblocks it faced, and its eventual shutting down. 22:21-24:49 - Rishad’s takeaways from running ClinicUp, as he gives his advice to emerging start-up founders.  24:51-28:54 - Should physicians work as consultants for healthcare start-ups?

Healthcare entrepreneurship and healthcare professionals might not see eye-to-eye on a variety of topics, but the one thing they both have in common is the advancement of healthcare and the elevation of patient care around the world. Welcome back to our conversation with Dr. Sven Jungmann, co-founder and CEO of Halitus GmbH. In this week’s episode, Sven discusses about his progression from residency to entrepreneurship, the challenges he had to face in doing so, and much more. Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com Find us on Twitter! Timestamps 02:08-04:45 - Walking the road less travelled - Sven’s transition from residency to taking up a CMO role. 04:45-10:52 - Being called unethical as a doctor - the emotional and professional challenges of working in “private sector healthcare”. 10:53-13:05 - Unlearning. One of the indispensable steps to entrepreneurial success. 13:06-17:13 - Unlearning as a physician and unlearning as an entrepreneur; there’s a stark difference between the two. 17:14-20:20 - Opinions vs. Facts - encouraging healthy psychological discourse at the workplace. 20:21-24:55 - Sven describes the various classifications, or archetypes, that exist in healthcare today. 24:56-28:36 - How physicians of today are evolving, with the rapid evolution of technology. 28:37-32:52 - Everybody’s running with the data hype-train, and Sven’s a part of it as well. 32:53-34:40 - Sven almost forgets about Canada as he updates us about what’s coming next.

A master career juggler, who somehow manages to impact more and more people through his marvellous field of work. We are talking about a pioneer of digital healthcare entrepreneurship in Europe, Dr. Sven Jungmann. In this week’s episode, we talk to Sven about his dream of joining the armed forces and why he deviated from that to venture into healthcare. Sven also gives his straightforward opinions about the importance of impact in healthcare, and how he aims to create a big one himself. Discover more at https://www.howitsmed.com Find us on Twitter! Timestamps 00:59-03:54 - So who is Sven Jungmann? A card game inventor? A doctor? A tech guy? Well he’s all three of those! 04:15-09:00 - Find out the one thing that you love, and be the best at it. Sven doesn’t completely agree with this notion, and he has his reasons too! 09:08-13:22 - A lifelong dream of joining the armed forces, and how that changed when an army sniper, and his mentor, advised Sven to not pursue it. 13:23-17:50 - Scaling up - why is it important? Sven reflects upon his eureka moment, when he realized how much of an impact he wanted to make in his field of work. 17:51-19:04 - An explainer on effective altruism, and how that influenced Sven’s educational journey at Oxford. 19:05-23:59 - Going back to medicine after Oxford, then getting back out of it to go into digital health start-ups; a glimpse of Sven’s topsy-turvy career arc. 24:00-27:10 - Sven talks about the different roles that conventional doctors are now taking up while including himself in the list as well.