Capstan Medical designed its mitral coronary heart valve implant with a self-expanding nitinol body. | Source: Capstan Medical
Heart illness continues to be a number one reason behind demise within the U.S., killing almost 700,000 Americans annually, in keeping with the Centers for Disease Control. Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Capstan Medical stated it has been working to merge surgical robotics with catheter-based expertise utilizing supplies reminiscent of nitinol, in addition to next-generation implants.
Maggie Nixon, CEO of Capstan Medical, just lately offered an replace on the startup‘s surgical robots and her perspective on minimally invasive medical technology. She also discussed her team’s work with nitinol, latest funding from Intuitive Ventures, and what she has discovered about management because the former Intuitive Surgical engineer-turned-executive grew to become Capstan’s CEO.
Nitinol is an almost equiatomic steel alloy of nickel and titanium with distinctive properties, together with superelasticity (additionally referred to as pseudoelasticity) and form reminiscence. Superelasticity or pseudoelasticity means medical-grade nitinol reveals nice elasticity underneath stress and may snap again to its unique form when strain is launched.
The alloy’s properties enable medical gadgets to compress to a decrease profile when being positioned in a affected person utilizing a catheter. Implants manufactured from nitinol reminiscent of coronary heart valves can broaden to their supposed measurement and form on the website of implantation and stay contained in the affected person. Meanwhile, nitinol remedy gadgets reminiscent of ablation catheters can broaden contained in the physique, deal with focused tissue, after which compress once more for retrieval.
Shape 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 broaden to their pre-formed form at physique temperature for everlasting placement.
The excerpts under have been frivolously edited for area and readability.
Capstan works intently with nitinol suppliers
Is there something Capstan has discovered about nitinol that you could possibly share with our readers?
Nixon: Some of it’s in our secret sauce, so we prefer to be delicate to it. But what I say greater than something is you’ve obtained to companion along 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 means of our growth course of and implementation, all over their pilot line transfers and whatnot.
If you view that as one thing the place you throw it over the wall to a provider and anticipate 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 wish 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 improbable companions.
Capstan CEO Maggie Nixon. | Source: Capstan Medical
Nixon shares classes in management
What have you ever discovered 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. And then in 2023, I moved into the centered Capstan Medical CEO position.
So I went from Intuitive — which was 12,000 or 13,000 individuals — into an organization that was 15 individuals. The very first thing I did was constructed a desk and a chair and and obtained my pc operating. And essentially the most unbelievable a part of all of it’s simply the vitality round what we’re searching for to perform. That’s been the thrilling factor.
We’ve grown our workforce to most likely somewhat 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 approach.
Keeping that momentum is considered one of my greatest priorities as a pacesetter within the coming years for Capstan. That foundational vitality from the workforce goes to gasoline us simply as a lot because the {dollars} that come by means of the fundraises.
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Intuitive nonetheless a key a part of the community
And all the pieces’s pleasant with Intuitive Surgical?
Nixon: My time at intuitive was immensely useful, and I’m nonetheless shut associates and collaborators with them.
Intuitive Ventures continued their funding, and I believe the world of all the pieces that Intuitive is doing. I nonetheless use them deeply in my community.
Do you will have recommendation for tips on how 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 lots of the funding conferences, you’ll see them on panels and whatnot. Honestly, the easiest way to have interaction with them is seize them at a kind of conferences.
At least that’s my perspective. They’re consistently scanning the setting for for unbelievable alternatives, and they’re a number of the most lively, particularly within the early-stage conferences.”
Editor’s be aware: This article was syndicated from The Robot Report sibling website Medical Design and Outsourcing.