The development of healthcare innovations has peaks and valleys. Former vascular surgeon and now entrepreneur Mark Vrancken Peeters knows all about that. In the Pepper Podcast, he talks about OctoVascular's vascular clip that is set to change the world of bypass surgery.
Currently, heart bypass surgery requires a lot from a patient. "The sternum is cut in half and the chest is opened up. This causes a lot of pain and a long recovery time after surgery," said Mark Vrancken Peeters, CEO of OctoVascular, in the Pepper Podcast.
On average, patients spend 10 days in the hospital after bypass surgery with a total recovery time of 12 weeks. But OctoVascular's innovative vascular clip makes it possible to perform the same procedure as keyhole surgery.
This can shorten the hospital stay to three days, with a total recovery time of three weeks.
Also read: How to ensure sustainable adoption of your healthcare innovation: lessons from practice
From idea to practice
The vascular clip makes connections between blood vessels with an automated system. In addition to enabling keyhole surgery, this system also reduces damage to the vessels. All in all, this innovation is promising, but application in practice is still in the future.
"The vascular clip is currently only used in the lab. We're not operating in humans yet, it's too early for that. At the end of the year we will start animal testing. If the results are good, we will get approval to start implanting the first vascular clip in humans," says Vrancken Peeters.
So to eventually see your innovation in practice, you need a long breath as a healthcare entrepreneur. "Development can take more than five years. And then you get the process of approval. Sometimes you need the data from 50 to 100 patients to assess whether it's safe and effective."
Involve the end user in your innovation
According to Vrancken Peeters, when developing a medical device, the focus is often on the technology. "That makes sense, but also involve the person who is going to use the device. If you're making something for a surgeon, involve the surgeon at an early stage as well."
As a former vascular surgeon, Vrancken Peeters knows exactly how a surgeon thinks and can therefore make the product fit the market perfectly. "Users often give tips that an engineer would not immediately think of, for example, such as the importance of sterility."
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Rules are more than frustration
Startups in healthcare often have to deal with many requirements they have to meet, for example from Brussels. "Before you can sell your product on the European market, you have to prove that your product is effective and safe. Those requirements have recently been tightened." Stricter rules can create frustration and make the already complicated innovation process even more complicated.
Yet Vrancken Peeters sees the benefit of that very fact. "Those rules are meant to prevent medical devices being made that are not safe. Society demands more and more safety and stricter standards. That's not frustrating, that's just what we have to deal with. Even if it means it takes a little longer."
Speed versus diligence
Normally, speed is the holy grail for a startup. For a regulator, on the other hand, diligence is. "As healthcare entrepreneurs, we have to navigate between the two," he said.
This dichotomy can also occur internally, people who want to do things quickly rather than carefully and vice versa. As an entrepreneur, you have to respond to that. "It's a collaboration. We have to understand each other well. If we explain to each other every time why we think what we think, things will work out. And that is clearly present in our team: trust in each other's expertise."
Also read: Why many healthcare innovations fail: the power of hidden interests
Get your pitch right
Before you get started, it's wise to have your story in order. What value will you add? "The cardiac surgeon is currently the only surgeon who does not yet operate with a robot because it is so difficult to make that vascular connection. We are at the forefront of a new development with this vascular clip. For decades, bypass surgery has been done a certain way and this is going to completely turn it around." So your pitch becomes stronger if you can articulate well why your product or way is best.
Benefit for hospital, surgeon and patient
Not only do patients benefit from bypass via keyhole surgery and faster recovery time, healthcare professionals and hospitals also benefit. The surgeon can operate easier and faster (thus cheaper) and the hospital needs fewer beds because patients go home sooner. "A lot of costs are saved and that's good for all stakeholders. But ultimately it's about the benefit to the patient. That is also my personal drive. We are all about the benefit to the patient and improving patient care."
Listen back to the episode of the Pepper Podcast with Mark Vrancken Peeters via this link. The episode is hosted by Jos Hummelen, communications specialist at ROM Utrecht Region.
