Impulse – Meeting Healthcare Pioneers

We don’t need to look far in the daily news to understand the stakes and the importance of having efficient solutions to control and stop bleeding. In the times we live in, where the world is crippled by a series of humanitarian catastrophes (some of natural origin, some of human origin), technological wonders from the medical field make me truly hopeful about the future, and about what we can achieve as humans. One of them is the hemostatic gel - a gel that can stop bleeding - that Joe Landolina and his team at Cresilon created. And its astonishing performance is easy to grasp: any bleed can be stopped within three seconds. Compared to traditional methods that require several minutes, it can mean the difference between life and death. There’s so much that impresses in Joe’s journey since the foundation of Cresilon: the fact that he developed the gel formulation himself, that he founded the company at 17 years old in his first year at University, or that Cresilon now represents the largest biotech manufacturing site in New York, and so much more! Beyond these successes, this episode is an ode to biomimicry and the science of biomaterials. Joe reveals everything about the functioning of this revolutionary medical product, its ability to stop bleeding almost instantly, and what it changes in medicine for the treatment of superficial injuries, but especially for the most severe traumatic cases. A surprising encounter with a prodigious entrepreneur, building his path on resilience and adaptability, with the long-term vision to transform bleeding control in humans! Timeline: 02:23 - Joe’s background and founding Cresilon in his first year in college 06:15 - Cresilon’s mission and the technology at its core 08:42 - How the hemostatic gel from Cresilon compares to traditional bleeding control methods 10:40 - The explanation behind Cresilon’s hemostatic gel unique performance 16:06 - How the gel is applied and removed 21:44 - Marketing first the product for veterinary application before moving to human use 25:27 - Being the only biotech company with manufacturing capabilities in New York 34:15 - Setting up the company to become a large medtech player in the long term What we also talked about with Joe: New York University Columbia University Scar tissue formation Fibrin Extracellular matrix Hurricane Sandy American Veterinary Medical Association Roche Pfizer Cutiss We cited with Joe some of the past episodes from the series: 18 - The dark genome as the next revolution in drug discovery - Samir Ounzain - HAYA Therapeutics Feel free to follow Cresilon’s activities on LinkedIn! You will find here the TED Talk that Joe held in 2015, and here the Medsider podcast episode between Joe and Scott Nelson that we mention in this episode of Impulse. If you want to contact Joe, you can reach out to him over LinkedIn. If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]! 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 updated 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 "#25 - Stopping a bleed in three seconds - Joe Landolina - Cresilon" on your streaming platform.

How would the world look like if men had the most efficient and reversible means of birth control? The outstanding work that L.R. Fox and his team at NEXT Life Sciences are leading might bring a very tangible answer to this question. Based on the pioneering work from Prof. Sujoy K. Guha and The Parsemus Foundation, they are developing one of the most promising male birth control methods medicine has ever known, under the name of Plan A. As an American citizen who has grown under the Foster Care program, Fox (as he likes to be called) has witnessed firsthand the dramatic consequences that unplanned pregnancies can have on individuals and their relatives in the long term. According to him, we have gone quite far already in terms of available options for women and men when it comes to birth control methods. But Plan A could be a revolution in the space, as it is completely hormone-free, painless to deliver and revert, and has an efficacy duration that is way beyond current standards. And most importantly, it can redistribute the heavy responsibility of family planning from women to men. In this episode, we talk about the science behind Plan A, where the technology comes from, how far is it from being available worldwide, and what it would change for society as a whole! A fascinating conversation with a visionary founder, deeply led by the purpose of fostering a positive impact in the world, and with a strong social approach to entrepreneurship! Timeline: 02:35 - Fox’s background and how he landed in the field of male contraception 06:16 - Experiencing firsthand the consequences of unplanned pregnancies 09:34 - The mission of NEXT Life Sciences 11:50 - The need, the science, and the functioning of Plan A 16:02 - How the Plan A procedure works and gets reverted 25:02 - Guaranteeing a 10-year efficacy claim 26:56 - Launching the first human clinical trials 33:55 - Making it accessible to the broadest population 38:17 - The philosophy of Fox and NEXT Life Sciences What we also talked about with Fox: Sexually transmissible diseases (STDs) Condoms Vasectomy Reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance (RISUG) Plan B Public benefit corporation We cited with Fox some of the past episodes from the series: #6 - Bringing back walking to paraplegics - Jocelyne Bloch - .NeuroRestore You can learn more about NEXT Life Sciences through their website, and feel free to follow their activities on LinkedIn! As mentioned by Fox during the episode, you can learn more about Plan A on the dedicated website as well as on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok. If you want to contact Fox, you can reach out to him over LinkedIn. If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]! 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 updated 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 "#24 - Reimagining male contraception - L.R. Fox - NEXT Life Sciences" on your streaming platform.

Wearables are a form of technology that has rapidly become a part of our lives over the past 15 years, with the introduction of devices from Fitbit, Apple, Samsung, and others to the market. Initially informing us about our heart rate and daily step count, they have evolved to incorporate increasingly sophisticated features, allowing us to track our sleep relatively accurately, monitor our overall physical activity, and sometimes even include recognized medical functions (such as the FDA-approved atrial fibrillation detection of the Apple Watch). However, no device of this type allows for real-time quantification of molecules circulating in our blood or other bodily fluids, through optical methods. And that's exactly the challenge that Leo and his team at Spiden have set for themselves: to create the most advanced wearable, capable of continuously and non-invasively measuring multiple biomarkers circulating in our bodies. This could redefine our understanding of our own physiology and change our approach to medicine, by providing insights for the prevention, diagnosis, and monitoring of several conditions, that were previously inaccessible. Since its creation in 2017, Spiden has been operating away from the spotlight, but Leo does us the honor in this exclusive episode to reveal the first secrets behind Spiden’s technology. We discuss its functioning, its initial applications, who the future users will be, and also the incredible team of world-renowned scientists Leo has managed to bring together in the fields of optics, electronic engineering, and machine learning (three fields that were originally completely foreign to him) to achieve his vision. A fascinating conversation about the future of personalized medicine with a bold and successful entrepreneur! Timeline: 03:43 - Leo’s background as a serial entrepreneur from fintech to deep tech 04:56 - Why Leo found Spiden and works towards improving our health 07:14 - The mission of Spiden 11:00 - The technology behind Spiden 14:47 - The biomarkers that Spiden can track 19:02 - Target users of Spiden’s future wearable 22:28 - Designing a health-dedicated device 24:10 - Attracting world talents in fields you are not initially from 34:01 - The importance of in-person interactions in a scientific and multidisciplinary team What we also talked about with Leo: Continuous glucose monitoring (Abbott Freestyle Libre) Bits & Pretzels HealthTech Photoplethysmography (PPG) Biohacking Glucose Goddess Whoop Oura Garmin Huberman Lab induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) We cited with Leo some of the past episodes from the series: #4 - Filtering the blood with nanoengineered beads - Lukas Langenegger - Hemotune #11 - Turning the lab into a wearable platform - Esmeralda Megally - Xsensio #21 - Transforming hypertension care with a bracelet - Jay Shah - Aktiia You can learn more about Spiden through their website. Feel free to follow as well their activities on LinkedIn! As mentioned by Leo during the episode, you can learn about the painful history of non-invasive glucose measurement through the book “The Pursuit of Noninvasive Glucose - Hunting the Deceitful Turkey” by John L. Smith. If you want to get in touch with Leo, feel free to contact him over LinkedIn. If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, you can contact me over LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]! 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 up to date on the latest medical tech progress, simply subscribe here! And don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#23 - Disrupting the smart wearables industry - Leo Grünstein - Spiden" on your streaming platform.

Given the rapid progress made in this field in recent years, autonomous vehicles could soon become part of our daily lives, bringing with them all the consequences and questions they raise in terms of modern mobility. This would benefit people with visual impairments who are unable to drive. However, it wouldn't necessarily assist them in their pedestrian moves, which will always play a significant role in their daily lives. Maël Fabien became aware of the lack of available solutions in this regard during a walk in town. He noticed a visually impaired person video calling a friend, who was guiding her through his voice based on the video she was sharing. As a result, he took inspiration from the latest advances in autonomous vehicles to create a harness capable of continuously analyzing the pedestrian environment, and safely guiding its users in all their movements. From there, Biped was born, a device that promises to improve the life of the 270 million visually impaired people worldwide, by providing them with a much more accurate and secure perception of their environment than traditional solutions. In this surprising episode, you will learn about: The daily life of a visually impaired person and its impact on mobility How Biped was developed in close collaboration with its end users Some key concepts of autonomous mobility and the sensors that constitute it How Biped translates the user's 3D environment into audio cues for guidance The potential applications of Biped beyond ophthalmology An outlook on the future of mobility and what it might change for those with limited vision! Timeline: 02:01 - Maël’s interests at the interface of economics and speech processing 04:07 - Addressing the need for 270 million visually impaired 07:50 - What Biped is about 15:32 - How Biped reads and translates the environment of the user 22:30 - How users are trained on the system 24:14 - The spectrum of visually impaired people that Biped serves 30:08 - The underlying business model 32:19 - Potential applications beyond ophthalmology 34:58 - What users say about it 39:09 - Maël’s definition of impact What we talked also talked about with Maël: Idiap Research Institute Mobility training Lidar Bone conduction headphones Jules Gonin Eye Hospital Glaucoma Retinitis Pigmentosa Macular Degeneration Cochlear Implants You can learn more about Biped.ai through their website. Feel free to follow as well their activities on LinkedIn! As mentioned by Maël during the episode, you can find out more about the latest advances in autonomous driving and related AI through Tesla’s yearly AI Day (2022 recording here). He also recommends The Blind Life YouTube channel to understand how it feels to be in the shoes of a visually impaired person. If you want to learn more about Maël and his other endeavors besides Biped.ai, have a look at his blog! If you want to get in touch with Maël, feel free to contact him over LinkedIn. If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, you can contact me over LinkedIn or via email at [email protected]! If you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏 And don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and through our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#22 - Harnessing self-driving technology to guide the visually impaired - Maël Fabien - Biped.ai" on your streaming platform.