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 reason for demise within the U.S., killing almost 700,000 Individuals every year, based on the Facilities for Illness Management. Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Capstan Medical stated it has been working to merge surgical robotics with catheter-based know-how 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 know-how. She additionally mentioned her group’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 turned 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 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 fabricated from nitinol reminiscent of coronary heart valves can broaden 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 reminiscent of ablation catheters can broaden 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 broaden to their pre-formed form at physique temperature for everlasting placement.
The excerpts beneath have been evenly edited for house and readability.
Capstan works intently with nitinol suppliers
Is there something Capstan has realized about nitinol that you may 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 acquired to accomplice 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 means of our improvement course of and implementation, all over their pilot line transfers and whatnot.
When you view that as one thing the place you throw it over the wall to a provider and count on that you just’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 rigorously 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 just’re working with on nitinol?
Nixon: We work with Admedes in Germany, and they’re incredible companions.
Capstan CEO Maggie Nixon. | Supply: Capstan Medical
Nixon shares classes in management
What have you ever realized about management because you turned 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 acquired my laptop working. And essentially the most unimaginable a part of all of it’s simply the vitality round what we’re in search of to perform. That’s been the thrilling factor.
We’ve grown our group to most likely somewhat over 75 on the Capstan aspect alone, however actually what it’s about is everyone’s acquired that very same mentality and keenness as we’re in search of to handle this house and the creativity that we’re bringing to the desk as a way to deal with it in a brand new manner.
Conserving that momentum is one among my largest priorities as a frontrunner within the coming years for Capstan. That foundational vitality from the group 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 every part’s pleasant with Intuitive Surgical?
Nixon: My time at intuitive was immensely invaluable, and I’m nonetheless shut mates and collaborators with them.
Intuitive Ventures continued their funding, and I feel the world of every part that Intuitive is doing. I nonetheless use them deeply in my community.
Do you could have recommendation for the way to get in entrance of Intuitive Ventures or make a deal occur?
Nixon: Muriel Thinard McLane and Vivian Golfin (De Ruijter) and that group are so energetic. At a number of the funding conferences, you’ll see them on panels and whatnot. Truthfully, the easiest way 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 among the most energetic, particularly within the early-stage conferences.”
Editor’s observe: This text was syndicated from The Robotic Report sibling web site Medical Design and Outsourcing.
