I’ve found that scientists in other fields are enthusiastic about using their expertise to develop medical technology. Go for it! Don’t feel discouraged by the fact that you don’t have the scientific expertise to execute a project. What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs who have a promising idea they would like to turn into a product? We had excellent and dedicated people in the company who persevered and made the final product successful and ultimately approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this past year. We had so many times when our hopes were lifted, and then dashed as unexpected technical issues arose, which we’d solve, and then our hopes were temporarily lifted again…. At what point in those 20 years first realize that the lens was going to be a success? The development of this took you many years. Dan Schwartz, MD (center) and Chris Sandstedt, MD (right)
The founders of RxSight: Robert Grubbs, PhD (left), Dr. Nick Mamalis, we moved the project off-campus and formed a start-up company to further develop the light adjustable lens for clinical use. Once we demonstrated feasibility in pre-clinical models at Caltech and University of Utah with Dr. Steven Kramer, and we hired 2 post-docs who worked developing the technology at Caltech.
Dr. daniel schwartz how to#
Robert Grubbs, a tremendous polymer chemist (Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2005), who figured out how to do it in a matter of minutes! From there, I got some seed funding from my chairman at UCSF, Dr. After seeking help in the Chemistry departments of UC Berkeley and Stanford and coming up empty handed, l I went down to California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and met Dr. So, I thought, why don’t we try to use laser to change the refractive power of an intraocular lens? I had only a vague idea of how to approach the problem. This was in the mid 1990s when we were doing a lot of laser in retina for diabetic retinopathy, vein occlusions, and choroidal neovascularization. I was sitting in clinic with one of my colleagues at UCSF and he was frustrated because one of his patients had a high residual refractive error after cataract surgery. What inspired you to develop the RxSight lens? Can you briefly walk us through how the lens went from an idea to a final product? To what do you attribute the success of this lens? As a resident I received a solid, broad exposure to ophthalmology at Wilmer, and having this broad exposure helped me to innovate outside of my specialty. We discussed his involvement in the development of the RxSight (formerly Calhoun Vision) light-adjustable intraocular lens and he shared valuable lessons on pursuing a career in ophthalmic innovation.Īt what point in your career did you discover your talent for innovation? Were there any aspects of your medical training that fueled this interest?Īs an undergrad I majored in philosophy, not science, and learned how to take a fresh look at things, not make assumptions or accept things for the way they are. Schwartz enjoys a stellar reputation as an astute clinician, beloved educator, mentor, and forward-thinking pioneer in Ophthalmology. Schwartz, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Retina Service at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). This week I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr.
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