Too often we define the Medtech sector by the number of dollars raised, IPOs helped or companies sold. But the focus neglects the very foundation of the sector - the People. Join the Medtech Talk Podcast each week to hear from entrepreneurs, investors and executives who spend their days developing the tools that make sick people well and health care more efficient.
In the first Medtech Talk episode of 2025, host Geoff Pardo speaks with Dr. Billy Cohn, MD, PhD (H), Chief Medical Officer of BiVACOR, about entrepreneurship, limitless innovation, and thinking outside the box. Dr. Cohn discusses his experiences being a driving force behind the Center of Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center, what influenced him to pursue medical devices, and finding resources in everyday objects. He also provides advice for budding entrepreneurs and engineers and why he believes Home Depot is the headquarters of medical device prototyping.
Special thanks to Silicon Valley Bank for sponsoring this episode.
Dr. Cohn is the Chief Medical Officer of BiVACOR Inc. and the Executive Director of the Center of Device Innovation at the Texas Medical Center (TMC). He is also a tenured professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and an adjunct professor of Bioengineering at Rice University and the University of Houston. Prior to joining BiVACOR Inc., he served as a Vice President at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Executive Director for the Johnson & Johnson Center of Device Innovation at TMC, and Director of the renowned Cullen Cardiovascular Research Laboratory at the Texas Heart Institute.
Dr. Cohn has been deeply involved in developing the continuous-flow, totally implantable, artificial heart. In 2011, Dr. Cohn and Dr. O. H. Frazier successfully implanted the first pulseless total heart replacement device in a human patient. The device had been developed at The Texas Heart Institute.
Dr. Cohn has published extensively and has more than 220 US patents or patents pending for his medical device innovations that have been foundational for nine venture-backed startups.
