10:10 am
322 Fryklund Hall

Abstract

The medical device startup has become the aspirational pinnacle for many medical device engineers. These small, dynamic companies dispense with everything but research and development, in an attempt to remove all hurdles to innovation. This facilitates rapid development on a single problem in an attempt to catch the elusive acquisition. Startups keep everything you might need at your fingertips, generating an engineer’s sandbox filled with toys. The environment fosters innovation and can be extremely rewarding. However, the startup was born from intense competition both within and between companies, which can take a substantial toll on those who venture into them unprepared. In this lecture we will talk about what brought the startup to prominence in medical devices, the organizational structure they typically take, how regulatory agencies interact with startups and how better understanding of these small companies can prepare you for a career within them.

Bio

Lucas Harder is a Principal R&D Engineer in the medical device community of the Twin Cities area. He has spent the last eight years working with medical device startups developing minimally invasive structural heart devices.