How It’s Med

Med Tech Talks Episode 92: Michael Millar

We're back for another week! Geoff's joined by Michael Millar - CEO and Founder of Verto Inc., once again. While we heard about oil wells, digital twins, and the founding of Verto last time, we get to dig into Verto's early days, deployment, and future in the digital front door space this time. There's more, but to find out, you have to tune in!
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Med Tech Talks Episode 91: Michael Millar

Welcome back to this episode of How Its Med. This time, Geoff’s joined by Michael Millar - CEO and Founder of Verto Inc. Between exploring Verto's multi-year journey of Verto to get to where it is today, to understanding what underlies Michael's unique journey from public sector healthcare technology insider to academic and into the startup world - with technology concepts lent from the energy sector, we do a deep dive into Michael's origins - and more!
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Med Tech Talks Episode 90: Dr. Joe Eibl

Ultrasound is all the rage in acute care, but miniaturized ultrasound has use cases that can save hospitals thousands of dollars and patients days of stress and unnecessary treatment by preventing ICU admissions. So what makes it so hard to bring a device that delivers exactly these benefits to market?On this episode, Geoff and Joe talk about:
- The challenges of aligning key decision makers with different priorities during any healthcare sales cycle.
- The role of mentorship in identifying where and how to deploy sales resources for the purpose of business development in the resource-strapped environment of a startup business.
 
- The difficulties associated with new technology adoption in healthcare by healthcare providers.
 
- Patient safety as a uniting driver in adopting new healthcare technologies.
 
- The challenges of user interface development in healthcare, and how it is necessary to be flexible in this arena as the product's user becomes more clear.
 
- The gaps in Canada's healthcare innovation ecosystem - and how we can fill them.

Med Tech Talks Ep. 89: Dr. Joe Eibl

Patient flow is critical in these times of 18 hour waits in the emergency room; but what does a sticker on your neck have to do with it all?
Welcome back to this episode of How It’s Med. This time around, Geoff’s joined by Joe Eibl, co-founder and CEO of Flosonics. Other than debating as to whether or note Joe truly is Batman, we delved into how a project on mining tailings analysis led to a startup that could minimize preventable transfers to critical care - and save patients, the healthcare system, and providers grief, dollars, and stress in the meanwhile.
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Med Tech Talks Episode 87: Art Papier Pt. 2

How closely are medical education and ensuring excellent patient flow tied? According to Dr. Art Papier, more than you would think.
On this episode of How its Med, we rejoin Dr. Art Papier, co-founder and CEO of VisualDx. Beyond equity in skincare diagnostics, Dr. Papier shared the work that VisualDx is doing now to leverage medical informatics and AI - not just in the hands of clinicians, but also in those of patients, to ensure excellent access to healthcare in the future.
On this episode of How its Med, we rejoin Dr. Art Papier, co-founder and CEO of VisualDx. Beyond equity in skincare diagnostics we talked about:
The importance of equity in dermatological diagnostics.
How Art turned a collection of high-quality medical images into a medical education and diagnostics platform.
The role of patient-centered AI in enhancing access to healthcare, and subsequently, the role of healthcare providers in the future of healthcare.
How Dr. Papier shared the work that VisualDx is doing now to leverage medical informatics and AI - not just in the hands of clinicians, but also in those of patients, to ensure excellent access to healthcare in the future.
Art’s reflections on VisualDx as a company as the appropriate way to tackle the issues of inequities in healthcare, access to care, and inefficiencies in medical education.
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Timestamps
01:50-04:40 - Building a discrimination-free database, to provide equitable standard of care across the board.
04:41-08:58 - What thought goes into the branding of a “clinical decision support system”?
08:58-17:00 - How does the advancement of AI affect medicine? And how do the two complement each other?
17:01-20:02 - How to build a collaboration between the doctor, the patient, and technology.
20:03-23:08 - The central approach towards designing AYSA, a consumer facing tool to diagnose skin related conditions.
23:09-26:55 - Art explains the longevity of VisualDx, and what it takes to construct a long-term business.

Med Tech Talks Episode 87: Art Papier Pt. 1

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.
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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.
 

Med Tech Talks Ep.86: Miguel Testa Pt. 2

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!
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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!

Med Tech Talks Ep.86: Miguel Testa Pt. 1

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.
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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.

Med Tech Talks Ep.85: Mohamed Alarakhia Pt. 2

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.
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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?

Med Tech Talks Ep.85: Mohamed Alarakhia Pt. 1

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.
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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.