MedTech Jam Session with Chris and Mike D

From Hardware Stores to Level 1 Trauma Centers: The Arbutus Medical Story with Lawrence Buchan. What began as an initiative to adapt DeWalt power drills for humanitarian surgical care in Uganda has evolved into a massive efficiency solution for major US hospitals. In this episode, Mike D and Chris sit down with Lawrence Buchan, CEO of Arbutus Medical. Lawrence shares his journey from developing a...

The Biomimetic Hematoma may be the key to bone repair hiding in plain sight. For decades, the orthopedic industry has focused on mechanical fixation and synthetic scaffolds that physically resemble bone to treat fractures. But what if we've been approaching the biological healing process entirely backward? In this episode of the MedTech Jam Session, Chris and Mike D sit down with Dr. Vaida Gla...

Is the standard of care for rotator cuff repair leaving patients with weak scar tissue? In this episode of the MedTech Jam Session, Mike D sits down with Brad Pratt (CEO) and Andy Carter (CTO), the co-founders of Tetrous. Brad and Andy share their extensive histories in the orthopedic space and dive deep into how Tetrous is moving beyond traditional tendon repair to actively regenerate the enthesi...

What do you offer a 45-year-old patient with an irreparable rotator cuff tear who just wants to throw a baseball with their kid? Dr. Sean Churchill and CEO Chance Leonard jam with Chris and Mike D as they discuss the Super Spacer, a revolutionary, bone-conserving implant for this struggling patient population. With retear rates hitting 30-40% within two years following rotator cuff surgery, the cu...

Ortho Robots are everywhere…except in Trauma. That’s about to change! What MAKO did for knee arthroplasty, Mohammad Abedin and the team at Robossis are doing for long bone fractures. In this episode, Mike and Chris are joined by Professor Mohammad Abedin-Nasab, Founder and CEO of Robossis, to discuss why he is building the world's first robot designed specifically for orthopedic trauma. Mohamm...

What happens when a professional fighter, who is also a startup CEO, is told to put "25% of his body weight" on a recovering limb, but isn't given the tools to measure it? He builds a MedTech company. In this episode, Mike and Chris sit down with Ilya Popov, founder of ComeBack Mobility. Ilya shares his remarkable journey from being a tech CEO to a professional kickboxer in Thailand...

How do you go from a 4-hour surgery that leaves you frustrated to inventing a new category of orthopedic repair? In this episode, Mike and Chris are joined by Dr. Oke Anakwenze, Duke orthopedic surgeon and founder of SutureTech, to discuss his journey from the operating room to the boardroom. Dr. Anakwenze shares the "first principles" thinking that led him to develop a novel all-suture...

Is the medical device industry finally ready to move past "gimmicks" and return to first principles? In this episode, Mike and Chris sit down with David Jansen, CEO of SAIL Fusion, to discuss why the Sacroiliac (SI) Joint market is heating up and why "proven orthopedic principles" are the new disruption. David shares his journey from engineering student to startup CEO and revea...

Chris & Mike D share their take on the biggest trends of 2025 and what to look for in 2026 in the world of Ortho, Spine, and all things MSK. Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

Why are we still crossing joints to fix small-bone fractures? On this week’s MedTech Jam Session with Chris & Mike D, CEO Sarah Sachinis explains how Meduloc uses flexible nitinol to deliver intramedullary fixation without traversing the joint. This winning combination features elasticity (micromotion for healing) with distal locking for stability… All while protecting the joint. Genius! Medul...

Part 2 of our MNVC Recap Series on the MedTech Jam Session with Chris & Mike D! We pick up the conversation by finishing our recap of the Investor Roundtable panel and then share what CEO’s and Founders are thinking with their Go To Market approach and channel strategy. Hint: Capital efficiency is king! You can listen to MedTech Jam Session on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and now, YouTube. Congrat...

The 2025 MNVC was an epic, sold out gathering of founders, builders, investors, and drivers of the orthopedic startup community. On this week’s MedTech Jam Session with Chris & Mike D, we have the two moderators that were in the ‘Room Where it Happened’ – Chris Lyons and Mike Sherman. In part 1, we discuss highlights from the panel, ‘Financing and M&A Environment for Private Companies’ by...

Why do patients sometimes struggle to regain motion following a technically perfect tendon repair surgery? Adhesions from tissue tethering can keep patients from returning to normal activities. Meet B3 GEL™ from TYBR Health: A flowable, bioresorbable ECM gel that prevents restrictive scar tissue while supporting optimal healing. Chris Wright jams with Chris and I as he shares the origin story of t...

Is there a ‘Missing Middle’ in tendon care? Many partial-tear patients find themselves in a treatment gap where PT or needle procedures fail, but they are not yet candidates for surgery. That’s where Trace Orthopedics is creating the future of tendon repair. Dr. Bill Morrison and CEO Adam Greenspan jam with Chris and Mike D. as they share their journey to launch the first device for tendon reattac...

A surgeon-led rethink of patella fractures launches Endeavor Orthopaedics. A failure rate of up to 40% in patella fractures was not acceptable to Dr. Brent Norris. “I had an epiphany in October of 2011. After a couple of challenging patella fracture cases, I realized, I was only addressing part of the extensor mechanism injury. By only treating the bony element of the injury with cannulated screws...

Building the future of Ortho for over 20+ years at the annual MNVC. Gary Stevenson shares the story behind launching the Musculoskeletal New Ventures Conference (MNVC) over 20 years ago in Memphis—a platform designed to bring together surgeon-entrepreneurs, MedTech investors, and startups in the ortho space. Here’s what we learned from Gary: 1. With orthopedic giants such as @Stryker, @SNN and @Me...

Will ‘Scopes as a Subscription’ be the new model for arthroscopy? Bryan Lord and Pristine Surgical sure make a compelling case as they announce their full US market release of Summit – a first of its kind, 4K single-use surgical arthroscope. Here’s what we learned from Bryan: 1. Pristine Surgical has reinvented endoscopy by introducing a single-use, high-definition endoscopy platform that turns ca...

Will a Two-Portal approach be the catalyst for widespread adoption of endoscopic spine? Andy Choi and the team at Amplify Surgical have cracked the code and are proving that their dualPortal solution can deliver enhanced visualization and greater flexibility for spine surgeons performing lumbar fusion cases through a minimally invasive approach. Check out our recent conversation with Andy as he sh...

Imagine being able to detect compartment syndrome before symptoms appear. In our latest MedTech Jam Session, Chris and I speak with CEO Charles Allan of MY01 as he explains how their microsensor and continuous monitoring platform is helping trauma teams intervene earlier, avoid unnecessary fasciotomies, and improve outcomes for compartment syndrome. Here’s what we learned from Charlie: 1. MY01 has...

Meet Scott DeFelice and the team at OPM as they usher in the next big material innovation in orthopedics. In this MedTech Jam Session, Scott explains how PEKK offers true bone-like mechanics, osseointegration, radiolucency, and intrinsic antibacterial/antiviral performance. Here’s what we learned from Scott: 1. Tackling the Toughest Cases First - From oncology to arthrodesis, OPM’s PEKK implants a...

Chris & Mike discuss the themes emerging from this year's Think Tank including the growth of interventional spine

Can We Grow New Cartilage Instead of Replacing Joints? That’s a gamechanger! Brad Estes, CEO of CytexOrtho, joined Chris and I on the MedTech Jam Session to talk about his 3D printed biodegradable scaffold designed to replace damaged cartilage. Here’s what we learned from Brad: 1. Solving the Young Patient Gap With no good solution between cartilage repair and total joint replacement, Cytex target...

Can orthopedic surgery be both personalized and scalable? In our latest episode of MedTech Jam Session, Ju Zhang of Formus Labs shares how his team turned years of academic research into a cloud-based platform that powers patient-specific preoperative plans—used in over 3,000 surgeries to date. 🎯 From CT to soft tissue modeling 🔁 From pre-op planning to rehab personalization 🤖 Now integrating w...

Surgeon/Inventor/Founder/Investor/Pilot and all-around good dude Kent Ellington jammed with Chris Lyons and I on this episode of the MedTech Jam Session with Chris & Mike D. Kent shares his journey from clinician to creator, having developed over 100 products with over $1.5 billion in revenue! Mad skills! Here’s what we learned from Kent. 1. 6 P’s of successful innovation – People – Product –...

One of the biggest challenges in healthcare is care coordination. I’ve witnessed it firsthand over the past 20 years while caring for aging parents. My good friend Scott Laster and the amazing team at MiCare Path are leveraging digital innovation to bridge the gaps between primary care, specialists and patients. Here’s what we learned from Scott: 1. Is virtual care the next great service line for...