Innovator's Workbench: Medical Technology Innovation

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Envisioning the First Balloon Catheter - Thomas Fogarty, David Cassak (Biodesign): Date: 1/27/2003; Length: 2 minutes; Speaker(s): David Cassak , Thomas Fogarty; Sources: Stanford Technology Ventures Program; Description: [Introduction by David Cassak] Tom Fogarty explains that he became interested in medicine "by accident." He discusses his early design development and how he turned a clinical problem into a device that could solve the problem:
"In this situation...it was almost like a lightbulb that went off. If you put a thin catheter system down, and you can make it bigger and then withdraw it and control the volume during withdrawal, you get the clot out. Essentially, I took what
they call uretheral catheters, which are long, thin tubes. I cut the baby finger off a number 5 glove. I tied it on the cather system...and that was the first balloon catheter.

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