The BackTable Podcast Ep. 46 with Dr. Osman Ahmed
Dr. Osman Ahmed was recently on the BackTable Industry Podcast with Dr. Jonathan Paul and
Dr. Aaron Fritts. They discussed how they built a company with the goal of designing a data-
driven thrombolytic device that can deliver personalized care for patients with pulmonary
embolism. He was on Episode 46 titled “New Innovations in Treatment of PE: The Flow Medical
Story”. It can be found on the BackTable website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Dr. Paul, interventional cardiologist, begins this episode by explaining how he and Dr. Ahmed,
interventional radiologist, came to work together. Dr. Ahmed came to the University of Chicago
shortly after Dr. Paul started a pulmonary embolism response team (PERT) program. Dr.
Ahmed, through his IR training, had experience with PE/VTE. They met and decided to combine
their knowledge to build the program together. Both of them saw a need for new catheter
directed thrombolytic (CDT) devices in their respective fields – the landscape of thrombectomy
device innovation was booming, but they did not see the same innovation happening for CDT.
After they both received the COVID vaccine, they were eating at Panera and drew out the idea
for their device on a napkin. Neither physician had prior engineering experience and did not
know how to proceed after this, so they relied on the University of Chicago’s entrepreneurial
programs as a starting place. They then conducted market research and used their own internal
research funding to subcontract with an engineering firm. They have been working on the
design prototype since, and are conducting animal studies to trial the device. Once they reach
design freeze, they will start the regulatory process and NIH 510(k) submission. Dr. Paul and Dr.
Ahmed also have an NIH SBIR grant for small businesses doing innovative research, and plan
to have the device on market in mid 2024.
The goal for their device is to make it a catheter that can provide real-time feedback to minimize
the complications of both too little or too much thrombolytic therapy. They are installing a sensor
on the device that displays how much of the clot is lysed and allows for personalized PE
treatment. They hope to incorporate AI into their data management, which they will use to tailor
treatment in future patients.
About BackTable Industry Podcast
The BackTable Industry podcast delves into the evolving landscape of healthcare, tackling
topics such as models of care, advances in AI, and what these shifts mean for patients,
providers, medical device / drug manufacturers, and the rest of the healthcare ecosystem. Tune
in to the BackTable Industry Podcast.