Capstan Medical designed its mitral coronary heart valve implant with a self-expanding nitinol body. | Supply: Capstan Medical
Coronary heart illness continues to be a number one explanation for loss of life within the U.S., killing practically 700,000 Individuals every year, in keeping with the Facilities for Illness Management. Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Capstan Medical mentioned it has been working to merge surgical robotics with catheter-based expertise utilizing supplies similar to nitinol, in addition to next-generation implants.
Maggie Nixon, CEO of Capstan Medical, just lately supplied an replace on the startup‘s surgical robots and her perspective on minimally invasive medical expertise. She additionally mentioned her workforce’s work with nitinol, latest funding from Intuitive Ventures, and what she has realized about management for the reason that former Intuitive Surgical engineer-turned-executive grew to become Capstan’s CEO.
Nitinol is an almost equiatomic metallic alloy of nickel and titanium with distinctive properties, together with superelasticity (additionally known as pseudoelasticity) and form reminiscence. Superelasticity or pseudoelasticity means medical-grade nitinol reveals nice elasticity below stress and might snap again to its unique form when stress is launched.
The alloy’s properties permit medical units to compress to a decrease profile when being positioned in a affected person utilizing a catheter. Implants manufactured from nitinol similar to coronary heart valves can develop to their supposed dimension and form on the web site of implantation and stay contained in the affected person. In the meantime, nitinol remedy units similar to ablation catheters can develop contained in the physique, deal with focused tissue, after which compress once more for retrieval.
Form reminiscence means medical-grade nitinol can keep in mind its unique form and return to it when heated. For instance, some catheter-delivered implants are designed to develop to their pre-formed form at physique temperature for everlasting placement.
The excerpts under have been calmly edited for area and readability.
Capstan works intently with nitinol suppliers
Is there something Capstan has realized about nitinol that you possibly can share with our readers?
Nixon: A few of it’s in our secret sauce, so we wish to be delicate to it. However what I say greater than something is you’ve obtained to companion together with your producers. We work so intently with not simply our nitinol uncooked materials suppliers ensuring that we’re getting a constant provide chain arrange, however we work so intently with our producer by way of our growth course of and implementation, throughout their pilot line transfers and whatnot.
In the event you view that as one thing the place you throw it over the wall to a provider and count on that you simply’re going to get one thing again that works, it’s simply not the way it works. Nitinol is amongst our closest provider relationships, and we navigate these very fastidiously as a result of we view that as a partnership.
Do you need to give a shout-out to any of the companions that you simply’re working with on nitinol?
Nixon: We work with Admedes in Germany, and they’re unbelievable companions.
Capstan CEO Maggie Nixon. | Supply: Capstan Medical
Nixon shares classes in management
What have you ever realized about management because you grew to become CEO?
Nixon: I stepped in in 2022 to guide Occam Labs, which is the incubator that Capstan has come out of. After which in 2023, I moved into the targeted Capstan Medical CEO position.
So I went from Intuitive — which was 12,000 or 13,000 folks — into an organization that was 15 folks. The very first thing I did was constructed a desk and a chair and and obtained my laptop working. And probably the most unimaginable a part of all of it’s simply the power round what we’re searching for to perform. That’s been the thrilling factor.
We’ve grown our workforce to in all probability a bit over 75 on the Capstan facet alone, however actually what it’s about is everyone’s obtained that very same mentality and fervour as we’re searching for to handle this area and the creativity that we’re bringing to the desk to be able to handle it in a brand new manner.
Preserving that momentum is one in all my largest priorities as a pacesetter within the coming years for Capstan. That foundational power from the workforce goes to gasoline us simply as a lot because the {dollars} that come by way of the fundraises.
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Intuitive nonetheless a key a part of the community
And all the things’s pleasant with Intuitive Surgical?
Nixon: My time at intuitive was immensely beneficial, and I’m nonetheless shut pals and collaborators with them.
Intuitive Ventures continued their funding, and I feel the world of all the things that Intuitive is doing. I nonetheless use them deeply in my community.
Do you will have recommendation for the best way to get in entrance of Intuitive Ventures or make a deal occur?
Nixon: Muriel Thinard McLane and Vivian Golfin (De Ruijter) and that workforce are so lively. At a number of the funding conferences, you’ll see them on panels and whatnot. Actually, one of the simplest ways to have interaction with them is seize them at a kind of conferences.
At the least that’s my perspective. They’re continuously scanning the atmosphere for for unimaginable alternatives, and they’re a few of the most lively, particularly within the early-stage conferences.”
Editor’s notice: This text was syndicated from The Robotic Report sibling web site Medical Design and Outsourcing.