Ep. 66 Managing the Difficult Airway Through Innovation: The Adroit Surgical Story with Dr. Nilesh Vasan

In this episode, Dr. Eric Gantwerker and Dr. Nilesh Vasan, Founder/CEO of Adroit Surgical and Head & Neck Surgeon at University of Oklahoma (OU Health), discuss the development of Adroit Surgical. --- EARN CME Reflect on how this Podcast applies to your day-to-day and earn free AMA PRA Category 1 CMEs: https://earnc.me/4Wi8D5 --- SHOW NOTES First, Dr. Vasan describes his surgical training and lifelong passion for invention. Originally from New Zealand, Dr. Vasan completed a head & neck fellowship at OU Health. His surgical experience includes private and academic practice. During his time in private practice, Dr. Vasan worked on interdisciplinary teams to manage difficult airways. He credits this experience with sparking his interest in developing better tools for intubation. Next, Dr. Gantwerker and Dr. Vasan review the development of Adroit Surgical’s first product, the Vie-Scope. The battery-powered Vie-Scope combines superior visualization with portability to facilitate intubation across settings. Hoping to improve visualization during hand-held laryngoscopy, Dr. Vasan sketched a modified anterior commissure laryngoscope that would become the Vie-Scope. He then worked with an experienced patent attorney who helped him develop and notarize his innovation. Then, the surgeons cover advice to building networks. A pitch competition in Oklahoma City connected Dr. Vasan with associates whose complementary expertise helped grow Adroit Surgical. Dr. Vasan then worked alongside a well-connected distributor who raised awareness of the Vie-Scope in his target markets. Today, the Vie-Scope enables successful first-pass intubation in emergent and operating room settings. --- RESOURCES Adroit Surgical: https://adroitsurgical.com/ “Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey Moore https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986 “Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Innovation” Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012