OTW POD Episode 11 - Inkwell

In this episode, TJ sits down with John Matthews, CEO of InkWell Health, whose journey from leading major orthopedic companies to founding a healthcare startup reveals the evolution of post-operative patient care. John shares his extensive background spanning DePuy, Johnson & Johnson, Wright Medical, and MicroPort, where he witnessed firsthand the seismic shift toward outpatient joint surgery and the critical gap it created in monitoring patients during their recovery at home. He explains how conversations with surgeons about the challenges of tracking patients between discharge and follow-up appointments, combined with the rising concern about emergency room visits after surgery, led to the development of InkWell's innovative solution.The conversation explores the technology behind InkWell's smart temporary tattoo system, which uses computer vision algorithms to transform simple markings on a patient's skin into medical-grade data tracking swelling, range of motion, and temperature. John walks through the technical challenges his team overcame to create an algorithm that corrects for different phones, lighting conditions, and camera angles while maintaining accuracy, and how the system achieves an impressive 82% patient compliance rate with automated reminders and intuitive design.Together, they discuss the clinical results showing how this data can identify patients at risk for manipulations or surgical site infections early enough to intervene, the reimbursement model using remote therapeutic monitoring codes that's making the technology financially viable for practices, and John's vision for expanding beyond knee replacements into hip, foot and ankle procedures, compression therapy, and international markets while positioning the company for future success.If you'd like to learn more about InkWell Health, please visit: https://linkly.link/2GnAi