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 behind loss of life within the U.S., killing almost 700,000 People annually, based on the Facilities for Illness Management. Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Capstan Medical mentioned it has been working to merge surgical robotics with catheter-based know-how utilizing supplies resembling nitinol, in addition to next-generation implants.
Maggie Nixon, CEO of Capstan Medical, not too long ago offered an replace on the startup‘s surgical robots and her perspective on minimally invasive medical know-how. She additionally mentioned her staff’s work with nitinol, current funding from Intuitive Ventures, and what she has discovered about management for the reason that former Intuitive Surgical engineer-turned-executive turned 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 exhibits nice elasticity below 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 fabricated from nitinol resembling coronary heart valves can increase to their meant measurement and form on the website of implantation and stay contained in the affected person. In the meantime, nitinol remedy gadgets resembling ablation catheters can increase 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 increase to their pre-formed form at physique temperature for everlasting placement.
The excerpts under have been flippantly edited for area and readability.
Capstan works carefully with nitinol suppliers
Is there something Capstan has discovered about nitinol that you might 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 bought to companion along with your producers. We work so carefully with not simply our nitinol uncooked materials suppliers ensuring that we’re getting a constant provide chain arrange, however we work so carefully with our producer via our improvement course of and implementation, all through 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 anticipate 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 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 just’re working with on nitinol?
Nixon: We work with Admedes in Germany, and they’re implausible companions.
Capstan CEO Maggie Nixon. | Supply: Capstan Medical
Nixon shares classes in management
What have you ever discovered about management because you turned CEO?
Nixon: I stepped in in 2022 to steer Occam Labs, which is the incubator that Capstan has come out of. After which in 2023, I moved into the centered Capstan Medical CEO function.
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 bought my pc operating. And essentially the most unbelievable a part of all of it’s simply the power round what we’re in search of to perform. That’s been the thrilling factor.
We’ve grown our staff to most likely a little bit over 75 on the Capstan aspect alone, however actually what it’s about is everyone’s bought that very same mentality and fervour as we’re in search of to handle this area and the creativity that we’re bringing to the desk with a purpose to deal with it in a brand new means.
Retaining that momentum is one in every of my greatest priorities as a pacesetter within the coming years for Capstan. That foundational power from the staff goes to gas us simply as a lot because the {dollars} that come via the fundraises.
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Intuitive nonetheless a key a part of the community
And every thing’s pleasant with Intuitive Surgical?
Nixon: My time at intuitive was immensely helpful, and I’m nonetheless shut mates and collaborators with them.
Intuitive Ventures continued their funding, and I believe the world of every thing that Intuitive is doing. I nonetheless use them deeply in my community.
Do you may 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 staff are so energetic. At a variety 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 consistently scanning the surroundings for for unbelievable alternatives, and they’re a few of the most energetic, particularly within the early-stage conferences.”
Editor’s be aware: This text was syndicated from The Robotic Report sibling website Medical Design and Outsourcing.
