Innovation as a key to patient outcomes

 

For about 10 years, the AGA Tech Summit, sponsored by the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology, has brought together physician innovators, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives to facilitate innovation in gastroenterology practice, and this year is no exception.

Attendees will get a “comprehensive, almost immersive experience to understand what’s hot in gastroenterology and innovation in 2018, where the gaps are, and where we need future innovators to be successful to improve patient outcomes,” said Srinadh (Sri) Komanduri, MD, the medical director of the GI laboratory and director of interventional endoscopy at Northwestern University in Chicago, as well as one of the meeting’s organizers.

“If you step back and look at how we work in the U.S., so much money is put into innovation and the device industry, but we still don’t get new technology into our physicians’ hands to change patient outcomes in any meaningful time [frame],” Dr. Komanduri said. This is in part, he said, because of the many roadblocks innovators face.

The meeting is designed to aid entrepreneurs, as well as physician innovators, who have ideas how to improve the field of gastroenterology but have found it daunting to take their ideas and commercialize them, added meeting organizer V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, the director of endoscopy for the University of California, Los Angeles, Health System. Dr. Muthusamy and Dr. Komanduri serve as cochairs of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology executive committee.

 

“Innovation is key to evolving and thriving in any field, and we’re trying to foster that in gastroenterology,” Dr. Muthusamy said. “There are many good ideas in GI that probably never see the light of day simply because of real and perceived barriers to successful innovation. We’re trying to demystify and simplify that process.”

New this year will be a Wednesday preconference entrepreneur and innovator package session, in which innovators can meet one-on-one with experts – including intellectual property attorneys, physician innovators, venture capitalists, and payers – for personalized advice on how to move their products forward. An evening dinner reception for summit sponsors will feature a talk by Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, founding director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavior Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, about the psychology of purchasing and how economic decisions are made in health care.

Also new for 2018 is a Thursday afternoon session on the evolving role of digital health in GI diseases. “We’ll look at where medicine is headed in terms of artificial intelligence, patient-driven mobile applications, and everything becoming digitally balanced,” said Dr. Komanduri, who will moderate the session. “We need to understand the space and how to utilize it on a more global aspect when it comes to innovation because there is a need for further education.”

The main summit will kick off Thursday with an address by Vadim Backman, PhD, the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University, about nanotechnology and how it applies to gastroenterology. “We have a lot of entrepreneurs wondering what’s the next thing,” Dr. Muthusamy said. “I think Vadim is going to open up some new horizons and get us thinking about things that we haven’t traditionally thought of.”

 

The morning will focus on avoiding critical mistakes in startups and on medical device development, including lessons learned about developing a product and practical approaches to getting funded. Sessions scheduled for after lunch will highlight how to achieve physician adoption, including how to obtain a CPT code and physician barriers to incorporating new technology.

Friday’s sessions are unofficially titled “the next generation of endoscopy,” Dr. Muthusamy said. The day will begin with a look at bariatric endoscopy and surgical techniques and at the challenges and unmet needs of bariatric procedures, as well as organ-sparing resection techniques. Following the Shark Tank presentations, in which small companies can present their ideas to an expert panel, and lunch, the afternoon program will feature discussions on the reprocessing of duodenoscopes and quality in endoscopy.

“Our goal is not just to have these sessions be an interesting 90 minutes but to inspire a group of people with passion and interest in these areas to guide the field over the next 5-10 years in terms of where our energies should be focused, what’s needed, and what trials should be done so we can achieve the best results the quickest to achieve adoption of novel technologies,” Dr. Muthusamy said.

Dr. Komanduri is a consultant for Boston Scientific, Cook Medical, Olympus and Medtronic. Dr. Muthusamy disclosed financial relationships with CapsoVision, Boston Scientific and Medtronic​.

 

For about 10 years, the AGA Tech Summit, sponsored by the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology, has brought together physician innovators, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives to facilitate innovation in gastroenterology practice, and this year is no exception.

Attendees will get a “comprehensive, almost immersive experience to understand what’s hot in gastroenterology and innovation in 2018, where the gaps are, and where we need future innovators to be successful to improve patient outcomes,” said Srinadh (Sri) Komanduri, MD, the medical director of the GI laboratory and director of interventional endoscopy at Northwestern University in Chicago, as well as one of the meeting’s organizers.

“If you step back and look at how we work in the U.S., so much money is put into innovation and the device industry, but we still don’t get new technology into our physicians’ hands to change patient outcomes in any meaningful time [frame],” Dr. Komanduri said. This is in part, he said, because of the many roadblocks innovators face.

The meeting is designed to aid entrepreneurs, as well as physician innovators, who have ideas how to improve the field of gastroenterology but have found it daunting to take their ideas and commercialize them, added meeting organizer V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, the director of endoscopy for the University of California, Los Angeles, Health System. Dr. Muthusamy and Dr. Komanduri serve as cochairs of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology executive committee.

 

“Innovation is key to evolving and thriving in any field, and we’re trying to foster that in gastroenterology,” Dr. Muthusamy said. “There are many good ideas in GI that probably never see the light of day simply because of real and perceived barriers to successful innovation. We’re trying to demystify and simplify that process.”

New this year will be a Wednesday preconference entrepreneur and innovator package session, in which innovators can meet one-on-one with experts – including intellectual property attorneys, physician innovators, venture capitalists, and payers – for personalized advice on how to move their products forward. An evening dinner reception for summit sponsors will feature a talk by Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, founding director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavior Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, about the psychology of purchasing and how economic decisions are made in health care.

Also new for 2018 is a Thursday afternoon session on the evolving role of digital health in GI diseases. “We’ll look at where medicine is headed in terms of artificial intelligence, patient-driven mobile applications, and everything becoming digitally balanced,” said Dr. Komanduri, who will moderate the session. “We need to understand the space and how to utilize it on a more global aspect when it comes to innovation because there is a need for further education.”

The main summit will kick off Thursday with an address by Vadim Backman, PhD, the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University, about nanotechnology and how it applies to gastroenterology. “We have a lot of entrepreneurs wondering what’s the next thing,” Dr. Muthusamy said. “I think Vadim is going to open up some new horizons and get us thinking about things that we haven’t traditionally thought of.”

 

The morning will focus on avoiding critical mistakes in startups and on medical device development, including lessons learned about developing a product and practical approaches to getting funded. Sessions scheduled for after lunch will highlight how to achieve physician adoption, including how to obtain a CPT code and physician barriers to incorporating new technology.

Friday’s sessions are unofficially titled “the next generation of endoscopy,” Dr. Muthusamy said. The day will begin with a look at bariatric endoscopy and surgical techniques and at the challenges and unmet needs of bariatric procedures, as well as organ-sparing resection techniques. Following the Shark Tank presentations, in which small companies can present their ideas to an expert panel, and lunch, the afternoon program will feature discussions on the reprocessing of duodenoscopes and quality in endoscopy.

“Our goal is not just to have these sessions be an interesting 90 minutes but to inspire a group of people with passion and interest in these areas to guide the field over the next 5-10 years in terms of where our energies should be focused, what’s needed, and what trials should be done so we can achieve the best results the quickest to achieve adoption of novel technologies,” Dr. Muthusamy said.

Dr. Komanduri is a consultant for Boston Scientific, Cook Medical, Olympus and Medtronic. Dr. Muthusamy disclosed financial relationships with CapsoVision, Boston Scientific and Medtronic​.

 

For about 10 years, the AGA Tech Summit, sponsored by the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology, has brought together physician innovators, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives to facilitate innovation in gastroenterology practice, and this year is no exception.

Attendees will get a “comprehensive, almost immersive experience to understand what’s hot in gastroenterology and innovation in 2018, where the gaps are, and where we need future innovators to be successful to improve patient outcomes,” said Srinadh (Sri) Komanduri, MD, the medical director of the GI laboratory and director of interventional endoscopy at Northwestern University in Chicago, as well as one of the meeting’s organizers.

“If you step back and look at how we work in the U.S., so much money is put into innovation and the device industry, but we still don’t get new technology into our physicians’ hands to change patient outcomes in any meaningful time [frame],” Dr. Komanduri said. This is in part, he said, because of the many roadblocks innovators face.

The meeting is designed to aid entrepreneurs, as well as physician innovators, who have ideas how to improve the field of gastroenterology but have found it daunting to take their ideas and commercialize them, added meeting organizer V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, the director of endoscopy for the University of California, Los Angeles, Health System. Dr. Muthusamy and Dr. Komanduri serve as cochairs of the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology executive committee.

 

“Innovation is key to evolving and thriving in any field, and we’re trying to foster that in gastroenterology,” Dr. Muthusamy said. “There are many good ideas in GI that probably never see the light of day simply because of real and perceived barriers to successful innovation. We’re trying to demystify and simplify that process.”

New this year will be a Wednesday preconference entrepreneur and innovator package session, in which innovators can meet one-on-one with experts – including intellectual property attorneys, physician innovators, venture capitalists, and payers – for personalized advice on how to move their products forward. An evening dinner reception for summit sponsors will feature a talk by Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, founding director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavior Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, about the psychology of purchasing and how economic decisions are made in health care.

Also new for 2018 is a Thursday afternoon session on the evolving role of digital health in GI diseases. “We’ll look at where medicine is headed in terms of artificial intelligence, patient-driven mobile applications, and everything becoming digitally balanced,” said Dr. Komanduri, who will moderate the session. “We need to understand the space and how to utilize it on a more global aspect when it comes to innovation because there is a need for further education.”

The main summit will kick off Thursday with an address by Vadim Backman, PhD, the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University, about nanotechnology and how it applies to gastroenterology. “We have a lot of entrepreneurs wondering what’s the next thing,” Dr. Muthusamy said. “I think Vadim is going to open up some new horizons and get us thinking about things that we haven’t traditionally thought of.”

 

The morning will focus on avoiding critical mistakes in startups and on medical device development, including lessons learned about developing a product and practical approaches to getting funded. Sessions scheduled for after lunch will highlight how to achieve physician adoption, including how to obtain a CPT code and physician barriers to incorporating new technology.

Friday’s sessions are unofficially titled “the next generation of endoscopy,” Dr. Muthusamy said. The day will begin with a look at bariatric endoscopy and surgical techniques and at the challenges and unmet needs of bariatric procedures, as well as organ-sparing resection techniques. Following the Shark Tank presentations, in which small companies can present their ideas to an expert panel, and lunch, the afternoon program will feature discussions on the reprocessing of duodenoscopes and quality in endoscopy.

“Our goal is not just to have these sessions be an interesting 90 minutes but to inspire a group of people with passion and interest in these areas to guide the field over the next 5-10 years in terms of where our energies should be focused, what’s needed, and what trials should be done so we can achieve the best results the quickest to achieve adoption of novel technologies,” Dr. Muthusamy said.

Dr. Komanduri is a consultant for Boston Scientific, Cook Medical, Olympus and Medtronic. Dr. Muthusamy disclosed financial relationships with CapsoVision, Boston Scientific and Medtronic​.