A Bright Future for Patient-Matched Surgical Technology with Nancy Hairston, President and CEO of MedCAD

[00:00:03] Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket podcast. Today, I have the privilege of hosting an episode with Nancy Hairston. She is the president and CEO at MedCAD. They're doing some pretty cool things in custom surgical solutions. In today's age, you don't have to pull things off the shelf with companies like Nancy's. And her story is unique.

[00:00:30] So I'm really excited to chat with her on today's episode to inspire you on what's possible in healthcare, but also to help you understand some of the solutions they're coming up with. So Nancy, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Thank you for the invitation. I'm thrilled to be with you today. Of course. Yeah, no, it's our pleasure to kick things off. Tell us a little bit about you and your unique story, because as I understand it, you started off in the toy business.

[00:01:00] I actually started off in the 3D special effects and animation business. And before that, a sculpture-degree kid who was like, what am I going to do with my life? I love that.

[00:01:11] I discovered 3D modeling. Not fashion, but 3D modeling back in the early 90s for special effects and animation. And I rode that wave and it was amazing and it was fun and thrilling and everything. But my real passion was modeling making things.

[00:01:30] So I directed more towards the manufacturing and 3D printing side and making products. So yes, that's when I got into the space of toys and golf clubs and shoes and all kinds of consumer products. Really in the way of connecting 3D modeling with 3D printing. Yeah. Because 3D printing was starting to explode. You were at the forefront of it, right? Like you were at the forefront of that. Forefront of that, yeah. Yeah.

[00:01:57] The first 3D printer I ever saw was printing stacks of paper to grow an object back in the 90s. So that was the forefront of it. So that's kind of where I came from. And then I pivoted again to medical. And do you still sculpture? Do you still get involved? Tell me about that. Have you lost it? I haven't been in a studio in a while, but that is a gold back into the clay studio.

[00:02:24] But I really enjoyed 3D modeling in the computer and making products early days of MedCAD and the R&D in the development of the products. But now I'm not doing it as much. But yeah, someday I'll be back in the studio. I love it. Do you have a favorite sculptor? Oh gosh, I love James Searles, who's a Texas sculptor. Really? Actually, Colorado, Texas sculptor. Still alive? Still alive. Going at it?

[00:02:51] Going at it. I actually was a fan girl. I got to meet him about a year ago. No way. It was a thrill. It was a thrill for me because I've really enjoyed his work. He's amazing. What's his specialty? Well, he did a lot of work in wood. Oh, okay. Sculpting wood and combining with it and a lot of found sort of wood objects. But they're very kinetic sculptures of animation to his pieces.

[00:03:20] So, I like artists that, you know, very active sculpture type work. Yeah. Functional. Functional. Functional in a whimsical way. You know, very active art. Yeah. Active and kinetic. Got it. Got it. Cool. I'll have to look that up. That's definitely a skill that I admire. I have two left hands and I'm right-handed when it comes to that kind of stuff. So, I appreciate you sharing. That's fascinating. Well, look, I'm a history major. Okay.

[00:03:49] So, like, I think we're in the same space where you kind of majored in the arts in college and then you got into business because you had a drive and a mission and a vision. So, let's get to that, Nancy. Like, tell us a little bit about MedCAD. What are you guys focused on? Yeah. So, we're focused on bringing solutions where customs or patient-matched makes sense, right? So, patient-matched means that everything that we do is for one person at a time.

[00:04:18] And we utilize the patient's CT data and other imaging data to be able to tailor a solution exactly for that person. So, in some cases, it doesn't make a lot of sense. But in a lot of cases, it makes a lot of sense. So, in the foot, for example, being able to tailor a solution based on the age of a patient or what their problem is. If it's arthritis, if they're older, if they're younger.

[00:04:47] We're able to use these new technologies to form a better solution and outcome for the patient. That's the nutshell of it. So, we put it out in the face and head where a half a millimeter matters in the teeth, for example. And we have taken the – we've learned in reconstructed faces and mouths for other areas of the body. We're very, very precise in developing our solution. We get very, very good outcomes.

[00:05:18] Patients in the past may have had two surgeries. We're able to make, in a lot of cases, one surgery out of a situation that might have been two in the past. And that's all helped with the technology that's come online and in kind of some proprietary ways that we developed to develop these devices in a patient-matched framework. That's fascinating, Nancy.

[00:05:43] And so, started in cranial maxillofacial, got into foot and ankle. What other areas are you guys exploring? We're exploring where we're already doing work in the classic space. So, that would be chest solutions and looking at other areas coming up next.

[00:06:01] So, our goal is to, as I mentioned before, bring patient-matched solution to the area of the body that really can make a lot of impact and provide the best outcomes for a patient. That's great. And so, as you guys work in the market, are the surgeons coming to you? Are you working with device companies, both? Bandol. You know, both and all.

[00:06:26] We are partnered with a company for the maxillofacial space called Zimmer Biomet, which is a large manufacturer in the space. And we have a beautiful relationship and partnership with them. And also work directly with surgeons and hospitals and various distributorships across the country. So, it's kind of a mixture of different distribution solutions that we work with, partnerships as well as direct-to-hospital. That's great, Nancy.

[00:06:55] As you work in this space, what's been one of the biggest and most differentiated things that MedCAD has been able to do? I think, again, if I use the example of the foot kind of solutions that we have now, we've come up with very clever ways to integrate a system of surgical planning and surgical guides. And then the accompanying plan.

[00:07:20] So, if you imagine combining surgical guides to make a very precise cut is one thing. But incorporating an implant that after the cut happens, that implant goes right in and brings those bones together with a contour of the anatomy that is no other choice. You know, we have surgeons that say, oh, I know that this implant has no other way of fitting besides snapping in to the anatomy that it was built for.

[00:07:49] So, it's a very different scenario than what has been in the past where you take an off-the-shelf flat plate or a contoured plate and you sort of fashion it to bend it to the anatomy. We're not having that as a need for the surgeons. They just put it in and it snaps right into where it's supposed to go. And that's a real game changer from so many just different aspects in the OR.

[00:08:17] It takes a lot less time to do a procedure with our system and less sort of back and forth. Is it the right fit? And questions. There's not another option, Will, with the way that our system works. So, you know, it kind of follows through kind of everything that we do. We combine precise guides and other instrumentation so that the implants fit perfectly.

[00:08:44] That's great. So, it's not just the implants themselves. It's guides for incision and it's guides for just kind of like cutting the bone. All of the above. Positioning. You call this a system. It's a system, yeah. So, most of our clearances are a system with the FDA. So, they combine the planning, the guides, the implants. And the anatomical models are also very powerful for the surgeons to have in the operating room

[00:09:13] and be able to see the anatomy that they're working on. And the way that we colorize these models where they can see pathologies kind of preoperatively and then they can postoperative solution in a model. So, that is a very nice guide for them as well. Education. That's great. For the patient as well, too. And talk to me about materials. And by the way, like I spent the first few years of my career before starting. I was a medical device rep.

[00:09:40] So, I did foot and ankle. Then you get this. Oh, totally. You know, at the time, you know, I did this with Stryker at the time. It was the Leibinger system and the Asnes system and, you know, all those oldies but goodies. But like being in the OR, the contouring, the fitting, and even like, for example, I went from trauma to spine. The contouring of rods, right? For scoliosis and those kinds of things.

[00:10:10] It's a pain. And it's tiring and it's exhausting for surgeons. So, talk to me about materials because there's been a big shift in materials in the space. Yeah, you know, we use a variety of different materials. We started out with plants out of Peak, which is a polyethylene ketone. It's one of the very best sick biomedical plastics on the market. We've moved into titanium.

[00:10:36] And then, you know, with 3D printing materials, that whole world is open to manufacturers now. To look at different types of alloys. For example, 6AL4V in the titanium space or stainless. Different materials for the solution that you're going after. So, prior to this, you would have a plug of titanium and mill a plate out of it.

[00:11:03] And we actually did have a product line that was milled titanium. It's a very painful period of our past. You know, you have five-axis mills. Oh, man. It's not fun. You know, the amount of time it takes to mill titanium. You know, if I had a mandator plate that took, you know, two weeks to mill, and now I can print many of them on a plate overnight. It's a total game changer, you know.

[00:11:33] Game changer. Yeah. And so, what we've really experienced over the last five, six years is just the real compression of time for customs. You know, we could do compression of time in customs and plastics. But now, what the last five years has brought us is compression of time in metals. Oh, my God. It's just incredible. It's just extraordinary. It's extraordinary. And the materials are just strong, if not stronger. The out is out of metal.

[00:12:03] It's just super, super exciting. And it was a really fabulous journey to take and bring that to market for our truck lines. Well, that's... So, yeah, it's a big deal. Yeah. Yeah. Big deal. I mean, it's been moving so fast. And, you know, I've got a nine-year-old and he's printing the most amazing things on his own in this little A1 mini. Like, what you could do as a kid even, right, is incredible. So, now what we're able to do at the sort of level that you're playing at is just incredible.

[00:12:32] Do you do anything for aerospace or are you just strictly healthcare? No. We are strictly healthcare. Okay. We are strictly healthcare. Cool. I like the focus. You mentioned kids. You know, we have internship programs for kids. It's cute. In the summertime, we'll bring them in for a week. And they'll learn how to, you know, model 3D. And then at the end of the week, they'll be able to print whatever they modeled at the end of their internship. That's so awesome that you're doing that, Nancy. You know, and it's really powerful for kids because they can...

[00:13:00] Had kids come into the program thinking that they wanted to be a dentist. And by the end of their internship two weeks a week, they're like, yeah, I think I want to be a surgeon now. You know, or I think I really understand where biomedical engineering can take you. It can take you to two different directions in the healthcare space. So, yeah, it's fun. It always brings a lot of energy to our studio. Yeah, for sure. That is so cool. That is so cool that you guys are doing that. So, we're getting to the end of our episode here.

[00:13:30] As you've built the business, I always love this question. What's a setback that happened that was sort of like eye-opening for you but then became formative? Yeah, I think I'm going to... Probably a question a lot of people answer their way. And I think COVID, the real silver lining of COVID was we could take a breath and go, okay, what do we do next? And let's spend this time in R&D. Yeah. And that was a transformative time.

[00:14:00] I think it was a collective sigh of what's going to happen. But it was also, okay, let's... Now we have a lot of engineers that have time to think about this. And so, it was a transformative thing for the company, even though it was just unsure and somewhat scary. You know, what was going to happen. But it was a great time to be tool and think about how we wanted to date. Were there any seeds that were planted during COVID that are bearing fruit now?

[00:14:30] Completely. Completely. Tell me one of them. I mean, our footnake system. It was another thing too... That was a COVID baby? Yeah, it was a COVID baby. It was a COVID baby. You know, because it also... There were a lot of surgeons that weren't working. Yeah. We were able to talk with surgeons and interview them and they had time to opine and what do you think is the next thing that would really help your practice and your patients? And it was a time for us to do a lot of research in that space as well.

[00:14:59] It really was a fantastic COVID baby. I don't know if you ever thought about it that way, but... It gave everybody something else to think about than what's happening. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Nancy, you're right because surgeons are typically like back to back. But now all of a sudden you have this sort of like pocket of brain power available. We did. And you're like, let's just jump on this. Let's do something productive. That's exactly what happened.

[00:15:29] Yeah. So cool. It was great. It was great. And we forged a lot of great relationships during that time. So... Yeah. It was a positive thing. That's beautiful. For sure. Well, look, Nancy, what an incredible opportunity to spend some time with you to learn about you, your story and MedCAD and the beautiful work that you guys are doing in the space. What closing thought would you leave us with? And if people want to learn more about you and the team, where can they reach out? Well, we have social media on Instagram and LinkedIn is a way to find us.

[00:15:59] Our website is medcad.com. And closing thought, we have a very bright future in patient matched. I think every part, even areas that we're not involved with, with AI and 3D technology, 3D printing technology, we are going to be able to see great advances in healthcare or solutions from tissue to hard tissue to drug technology.

[00:16:28] It's super exciting kind of next era that we're in. So we're thrilled to be an innovator in that space. Well, that's a great way to close the podcast here, Nancy. It's a tone of inspiration and something to look forward to. So I just really want to say thank you for spending time with us. This was a really great opportunity. Well, thank you for the invitation and really enjoyed visiting with you. Likewise. Okay. And there you have it, folks. Nancy Hairston, the CEO at MedCAD.

[00:16:58] In the show notes, you're going to find all the ways to get in touch with her and her team. If something today sort of stood out to you as, wow, that's something I could look at. Don't just think it. Actually do it. And if you think maybe a friend would appreciate this episode, forward it to them, text it to them, LinkedIn it to them, get it to them. Make sure they get it. There's so many ways. So many ways nowadays, you know. Just make sure they get the message.

[00:17:27] And that's how we make outcomes happen is we take action. So thank you all for tuning in. And Nancy, thanks so much for being with us. Thank you for the time. Take care.