Fogarty Innovation

🚨 Update 🚨 The 2026 Healthtech Exploration Workshop is open to any industry interns with an interest in advancing . This change opens the doors even wider as we build community, foster belonging and provide mentorship for individuals committed to improving health outcomes for ALL.

The Healthtech Exploration Workshop is an immersive two-day experience that that adds value to your summer internship program and sets your interns up for long-term success in the industry.

If you're a healthtech hiring manager or company bringing on interns this summer, learn more and sign up here: https://hubs.li/Q04j4HB70

Welcome! Somnair, which is working to improve the lives of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) sufferers by introducing a first-in-class, noninvasive device option to the market, has joined Fogarty Innovation’s Company Accelerator Program (CAP). The company is developing a neurostimulation device that opens the airway using a proprietary therapy delivery system.

The Somnair device was developed by co-founders Mitch Turley and Anders Sideris, MD, at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design. Turley is an MIT-trained engineer with expertise in product development and regulatory pathways; Sideris trained in ENT and sleep surgery and has treated thousands of patients suffering from OSA.

During their time at Fogarty, the team plans to leverage Fogarty’s ecosystem and expert network to refine the technical development of their device and advance regulatory de-risking, IP, and evidence generation.

“We’re particularly interested in Fogarty’s philosophy of involving community physicians in evidence generation,” said Sideris. “We’re interested to see how this accelerates our trajectory and are excited to have Fogarty CMO Zach Edmonds helping us partner with local sleep clinicians.”

It is estimated that 54 million Americans suffer from OSA, which is associated with serious adverse health outcomes including an elevated risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. As many as half of sufferers fail first line therapy, which is CPAP. The Somnair team raised an oversubscribed $4.3M seed round in July 2025.

Welcome! Cinch Innovations has joined Fogarty Innovation’s Company Accelerator Program (CAP). Led by cofounders CEO Nathaniel Cohen, MD; COO Stewart Kume; and CMO Treg Brown, MD; along with staff engineer Connor Wilson, the company is developing a novel implant for the treatment of proximal biceps tendon disorders, a source of shoulder pain that is commonly associated with rotator cuff injuries.

Welcome! 2025-26 Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellows Emeka John Amamdikwa, MD, and Mathias Vissers, MD, have joined Fogarty Innovation for their month-long externships—a customizable part of the curriculum that gives the fellows hands-on experience in health technology sectors aligned with their career goals.

Both fellows were drawn to Fogarty by the opportunity to see how healthcare innovations move beyond early-stage concepts toward commercialization and patient care.

During his externship, Emeka is working with Eclipse Regenesis, which is developing a regenerative therapy for short bowel syndrome, and learning from founders as he moves his own Fellowship project forward. “Being around founders — around people who are trying every day to do something new — fuels my own creativity,” he said.

Mathias, whose interests include digital health and neuroscience, is partnering broadly across the Fogarty Innovation ecosystem to learn how incubators and accelerators help innovators navigate regulatory, clinical, and go-to-market challenges.

Emeka, who works as a physician in The Gambia, also hopes to bring the lessons he learns at Stanford Biodesign and Fogarty Innovation back to his region to help build a stronger innovation infrastructure for future founders and clinicians.

Mathias, who plans to remain in the innovation space after graduation, is interested in internal innovation organizations within larger companies. He also hopes to combine innovation with education. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching,” he said. “One of my dreams is to become a professor in healthcare innovation.

Do you know an innovator or team who has developed and commercialized a life-changing medical technology? Nominate them for the 2026 Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize. https://bit.ly/Fogarty_Prize_2026

Tom Fogarty, MD, served as the director of cardiovascular surgery at Sequoia Hospital from 1980-1993. During that time, he helped build a culture of cardiovascular innovation that transformed Sequoia into a nationally recognized center for heart and vascular care.

By recruiting many of the pioneering physicians featured below, Fogarty helped shape a program known for minimally invasive vascular techniques, advanced interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery innovation, and physician-led medical device development.

Do you know an individual or team that has changed the standard of care for patients through innovation?🏅Nominate them for the 2026 Thomas J. Fogarty Innovation Prize: https://bit.ly/Fogarty_Prize_2026🏅

And don't miss this outstanding video from the Sequoia Hospital Foundation, featuring Vincent Gaudiani, MD; John Simpson, MD; Roger Winkle, MD; Hardwin Mead, MD; and Tom Hinohara, MD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjTsI4th5Jw

We were delighted to host a physician mixer for El Camino Health Women's & Newborn Services last week! Fogarty companies-in-residence Materna Medical, which is creating innovative solutions for women's pelvic health; and Novocuff, Inc., which is developing a device intended to improve outcomes in pregnancies affected by preterm, premature rupture of membranes (PPROM); had tables set up to demonstrate and discuss their technologies. Fogarty staff members met with providers to talk about the unmet needs they observe and how we can work together to solve important problems in women's and newborn health through innovation.

Thanks for all your hard work, Mrs. Fogarty!
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who nurture curiosity, resilience, and big ideas. 💐

🩺What actually determines whether a hospital adopts a new medical device? Clinical benefit may open the door, but it’s far from enough. Operational disruption, staffing impact, financial tradeoffs, and even the dynamics of individual service lines all shape whether an innovation actually gets adopted. As Zachary Edmonds, MD, MBA, Fogarty's CMO and the associate director of Sutter Health-PAMF Hospital Medicine explains, success depends on delivering measurable value across multiple dimensions.

For medtech innovators, that means thinking beyond the product itself and understanding and aligning with how hospitals actually function. It’s a perspective that can make—or break—commercial success.

Don't miss this inside look at how hospital purchasing decisions get made: https://www.fogartyinnovation.org/inside-hospital-purchasing-insights-from-fogarty-innovations-chief-medical-officer/

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
— Pablo Picasso

"Earlier this month, I took my daughter to tour the University of Colorado Boulder. We’re nearing decision day and were squeezing in a few final campus visits to get a better feel for the environment, student ethos, and other intangibles that might help her determine whether this is a place where she will learn, be happy, and thrive.

She is interested in law, so we attended a session with the academic advisor for pre-law students and graduates. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this man—deep into his 80s, with a wild fringe of gray hair and a matching mustache. He told us that he had reached the pinnacle of a criminal justice career before being recruited to academia. He spent the next 34 years channeling his competitiveness and drive into guiding students.

Then he tried to retire but discovered that he was miserable.

“The reason is you,” he said, gesturing at the assembly of young people. “I love my students. I love helping them reach their dreams and succeed in life.”

He went back to work and has been at CU Boulder since 2013.

Thinking about his words, I realized that I share the same motivation. The reason I’m at Fogarty Innovation—not just playing endless rounds of golf—is that I, like the rest of our senior team, find deep fulfillment in helping people succeed. Not in the abstract, but one individual at a time—our CEOs and their teams, Lefteroff interns, international innovators, DxD students, university researchers—all of the people who come through our doors motivated by a desire to improve healthcare and the patient experience.

Like that advisor, we are still fiercely competitive. It’s why we have built an organization that integrates hands-on coaching from a multidisciplinary team, practical education, and strategic alliances to drive a 5x greater likelihood of startup success.

But the bottom line is this: everyone at Fogarty Innovation is here because we have chosen to give back. We love what we do, and the energy and joy it creates are palpable to everyone who spends time with us. The best part is that, by helping individuals succeed, we strengthen the broader medtech ecosystem and ultimately improve outcomes for patients. In this way, it lifts everyone. This is our sphere of impact.

And speaking of impact, I am delighted to announce that nominations for the 2026 Thomas J. Fogarty Prize are now open. Please don’t miss this opportunity to nominate an innovator or team whose pioneering medical technology is transforming lives around the world.”

Link: bit.ly/Fogarty_Prize_2026

The above is an excerpt from Andrew Cleeland's CEO column in our April newsletter. To receive it in your inbox directly, you can sign up here: https://www.fogartyinnovation.org/get-involved/

Congratulations! Earflo, a graduate of Fogarty Innovation's company accelerator program that is pioneering non-invasive pediatric ear care, today announced the U.S. market availability of its FDA-cleared device designed to treat negative middle ear pressure in children as young as two.

The Earflo device provides families with an at-home alternative during the "watchful waiting" period often prescribed before surgery, addressing a condition that affects millions of children and frequently leads to ear tube surgery—the most common pediatric surgery in the U.S.

Earflo works by delivering a precisely-controlled puff of air through the nose into the eustachian tube during swallowing, helping equalize pressure in the middle ear and reduce fluid buildup associated with otitis media with effusion (OME).

We’re thrilled that the team has successfully brought this to market for children and their parents! Learn more:
https://earflocare.com/