01/31/2026
"Before we all go to MD&M West 2026 in Anaheim"
I’d like to recognize those who walked before me—and those who walked with me—through my journey in medical device development.
Before coronary angioplasty became routine—before stents, rapid-exchange catheters, and guidewires became trusted tools—there was no roadmap. What existed instead were physicians pushing the limits of what was possible.
They wanted more strength.
More torque.
More flexibility.
And they wanted it urgently—because patients were waiting.
Those early days of coronary stent delivery and catheter development were built in real time. We weren’t refining established science; we were creating it. Polymers behaved unpredictably. Balloon materials failed without warning. Extrusions collapsed or fractured in ways no one had documented—because no one had gone there yet.
So we learned by doing.
Guide catheters, guidewires, rapid-exchange systems, balloon polymers, extrusion methods, and balloon-blowing processes were developed through iteration, observation, and deep material understanding. Progress came from learning the why behind material behavior and the how that turned molecular response into strength, torque, flexibility, and reliability inside the human body.
The doctors kept pushing.
We kept delivering.
That partnership between clinical vision and material science laid the foundation for modern interventional cardiology. Many of the principles and processes from that time still live quietly inside today’s devices—often unseen, but always at work.
Today, a new generation of catheter experts is carrying this field forward. Their tools are more advanced. Their timelines are faster. And at the end of the day, we truly appreciate their role in continuing a hard-earned legacy of innovation that saves lives every single day.
At the same time, it’s worth pausing to ask:
Do we still understand the how’s and the why’s that brought us here?
This field was built by hands-on problem solvers—engineers, technicians, physicians, and innovators who learned materials the hard way, who failed fast so patients wouldn’t, and who shared knowledge long before it was expected or documented.
Development is never a solo act. It’s a continuum.
As the next generation carries this work forward, may we continue to honor the lessons, the people, and the purpose that brought us here—while pushing responsibly, thoughtfully, and boldly into what comes next.
Legacy doesn’t slow innovation.
It strengthens it. [email protected]
