DOCSF 2025: Start-Ups We Love - Part 2

We close out the DOCSF 2025 conference with a powerful final session recorded live in San Francisco. Mohan Nair (Emerge) takes the stage to share a compelling message about what it really takes to drive innovation in healthcare. In a landscape shaped by AI, automation, and rapid change, he encourages us to reframe ourselves not just as innovators but as explorers, curious, courageous, and ready to lower the cost of transformation by keeping things simple and impactful.Following Nair’s closing keynote, we present the inaugural DOCSF–OREF Poster Awards, honoring outstanding contributions to orthopedic research. Hosted by Fabrizio Billi, PhD (UCLA) and Lee Grossman (CEO, OREF), the awards celebrate the top three research posters selected from 25 submissions.These sessions offer both inspiration and grounded insights into how small, meaningful actions can spark big change. A fitting close to a conference focused on real-world digital innovation in orthopedics.

In this conversation from DOCSF 2025, Dr. Joshua Liu, CEO of SeamlessMD, joins Dr. Stefano Bini to unpack what it really takes to drive digital innovation inside healthcare systems.Drawing from over a decade of experience helping hospitals adopt patient engagement software, Dr. Liu shares five hard-earned, often counterintuitive truths about getting new technologies off the ground. From learning why solving clinical problems isn't always enough, to navigating the complex web of champions needed for long-term success, this session offers a grounded, practical playbook for innovators.Dr. Liu also discusses the evolving role of AI in patient journeys, the value of clinician-approved content in digital tools, and why trust and workflow integration matter just as much as the technology itself.Whether you're building a startup or launching a new digital initiative, this talk is packed with candid insights on what works and what doesn’t when introducing new tech in healthcare.

This featured session from DOCSF 2025 presents MedTech We Love, a look at cutting-edge surgical technologies that are reshaping orthopedic care. Moderated by Dr. Michael Havig (HealthMe), the conversation spotlights four standout companies bringing innovation from the lab to the operating room.Richard Bolander, PhD (TracPatch Health) shares how wearable sensors are enabling continuous, passive remote monitoring to track recovery and guide interventions, especially for patients with low mobility or challenging social determinants. Their data-driven platform helps clinicians identify at-risk patients and supports provider gain-sharing models.Gabriel Jones (Proprio) introduces a surgical intelligence platform that uses light-field technology and AI to provide real-time, 3D, radiation-free imaging in the operating room. He calls for unified, data-rich systems that empower surgeons to adapt mid-procedure and deliver better clinical and economic outcomes.Doug Fairbanks (Visie) showcases a 3D spatial computing platform that eliminates the need for pins and arrays in surgical navigation. With ultra-precise, high-speed tracking, their system enables real-time registration and robotic guidance, making surgery safer, faster, and less invasive.Stuart Simpson (THINK Surgical) presents a compact, wireless robotic system that integrates seamlessly into the surgical workflow. With an implant-agnostic model and decision-tree AI, their robot delivers precision without complexity, offering hospitals and ASCs a more affordable and flexible alternative to legacy platforms.Together, these companies represent a future where orthopedic surgery is more intelligent, adaptive, and accessible.

This special Lunch & Learn session from DOCSF 2025 features a presentation by LeanTaas, a billion-dollar healthcare technology company and longtime conference partner.The session offers a behind-the-scenes look at how LeanTaas is integrating artificial intelligence into perioperative operations, bringing new clarity to both clinical and financial workflows. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in healthcare operations, they share key lessons from LeanTaas’ journey. From early challenges in product-market fit to scaling AI tools that are now live in more than 1,200 hospitals and cancer centers.Two core innovations are showcased:A financial performance assistant that combines structured and unstructured data to help health systems make smarter decisions about service line growth, case mix, resource allocation, and block time.A clinical preparedness platform that uses AI-powered agents to engage patients ahead of surgery, automate low-risk communication tasks, and help care teams operate at the top of their license.This session delivers a practical look at what it takes to apply AI in real healthcare settings, moving from data overload to decision support, and from reactive systems to intelligent orchestration.

This session highlights four rising companies transforming orthopedic care with next-generation technology.Moderated by Dr. Nicholas Colyvas (UCSF), the conversation features:Thomas Knox (VitVio), who presents a compelling vision for ambient sensing and AI-powered computer vision in the OR. By replacing manual processes with autonomous agents, VitVio enables real-time surgical orchestration, smarter inventory use, and operational efficiency.Dr. Kishore Tipirneni (Tempida) introduces a powerful triad of AI tools, scribe, editor, and autopilot, that drastically reduce documentation time, improve insurance compliance, and automate EMR workflows without needing new software or integrations.Dr. Ju Zhang (Formus Labs), who shares how his company is scaling personalized orthopedic planning through AI-powered 3D modeling and digital twins, improving surgical accuracy and efficiency across patient journeys.Dr. Benjamin Schwartz (The Commons Clinic), who makes a compelling case for building in-house AI to support integrated, value-based care. By customizing tools to fit clinical workflows, his team unlocks better outcomes and real-time decision-making at every step of patient care.This session offers a window into how entrepreneurial clinicians and technologists are working together to redefine what’s possible in orthopedics.

This episode presents the first part of one of the conference’s most beloved sessions: Startups We Love. Moderated by Dr. Ronald Navarro (Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine), highlighting four startups tackling big challenges in orthopedics with cutting-edge solutions.You’ll hear from:XY.AI Labs (Sam De Brouwer & David Yousefzadeh), introducing an agentic AI platform that streamlines healthcare operations and revenue cycle management for smaller practices without the need for complex system integration.HipInsight (Stephen Murphy, MD), sharing a mixed-reality digital surgery platform that delivers robotic-level accuracy in hip replacement using immersive 3D guidance instead of hardware.Vent Creativity (Gilly Yildirim), presenting surgical digital twins that simulate soft tissue and skeletal anatomy in real time, creating personalized, predictive insights during surgery.EverEx (Alex Chan Yoon, MD), with an AI-powered rehab tool that delivers personalized physical therapy through a smartphone. Now FDA-listed and eligible for Medicare reimbursement.This session brings to life the creativity and momentum driving the next generation of digital health and surgical innovation.

Recorded live at DOCSF 2025 in San Francisco, this session explores how venture capital and investment strategies are evolving in today’s medtech landscape.Moderator Gregg Griner (Orrick) leads the discussion with two physician-investors who are helping shape the future of healthcare technology:Dr. Omair Khan (ARTIS Ventures) shares insights on the current funding environment, what venture firms are prioritizing in orthopedic innovation, and why some AI-driven tools are entering a period of market recalibration.Dr. Andrew Parambath (Pear VC) brings a clinical lens to the conversation, offering practical guidance on selecting pilot partners, mapping out reimbursement pathways early, and designing companies that can withstand market turbulence.Together, the panel offers a clear and realistic view of what it takes to build and fund successful orthopedic ventures in 2025.This session is perfect for anyone working at the intersection of technology, care delivery, and investment.

In this episode, we bring you a conference favorite, DOCSF Science, where cutting-edge research meets real-world relevance. Moderated by Dr. Fabrizio Billi (UCLA), with insights from Dr. Emel Demircan (CSU Long Beach) and Dr. Stefano Bini (UCSF), this session explores the most impactful AI and robotics research papers shaping healthcare in 2025.The panel unpacks four standout studies, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) models trained on peer-reviewed medical literature, multimodal foundational models that integrate text, images, and sensor data, and the latest in digital twins for personalized care. You’ll also hear about advances in cognitive robotics that respond to real-time surgeon behavior in the operating room.Whether you're a clinician, technologist, or curious innovator, this episode will challenge how you think about intelligence, data, and the future of surgery. It’s a clear, thoughtful look at how today’s research is already transforming tomorrow’s care.

Recorded live at DOCSF 2025 in San Francisco, this session brings together thought leaders who are challenging what’s possible in digital health.Moderator Unity Stoakes (StartUp Health) guides the conversation, opening the floor to:Dr. Daniel Kraft (NextMed Health & Digital.Health) shares a rapid-fire overview of breakthrough technologies shaping healthcare, from generative agents and digital twins to programmable biology. He invites clinicians to rethink what's possible as care becomes increasingly personalized and proactive.Dr. Fabrizio Billi (UCLA) explores contextual intelligence, spatial computing, and semantic AI. He explains how these technologies can create more adaptive healthcare systems that understand not just data but the meaning behind it.Brandon Barbello (Archetype AI), who introduces the concept of physical AI. These foundation models are trained on sensor data to recognize patterns in human movement, detect early signs of disease, and support real-time interventions.Dr. Douglas Unis (Monogram Orthopaedics & Mount Sinai) outlines the future of autonomous surgical robotics and how it could reshape surgical workflows and orthopedic practice.This session offers a thoughtful look at how emerging technologies are bringing science fiction closer to clinical reality.

We’re kicking off our DOCSF 2025 conference coverage, recorded live in San Francisco on Friday, October 3rd, with an energizing opening session. The day begins with welcome remarks from Dr. Stefano Bini, founder of DOCSF, and Dr. Ben Ma of UCSF, setting the stage for a weekend of transformative insights in digital orthopedics.Following the kickoff, Dr. Sara Edwards (UCSF) leads a compelling conversation exploring how AI is reshaping every layer of healthcare, from the operating room to the insurance claim.You’ll hear from:Dr. Charlie DeCook shares how radical time transparency and AI scheduling assistants are streamlining outpatient surgical workflows.Dr. Archana Dubey, founding partner of Arches Accelerator, explains how insurers are leveraging AI for faster authorizations, real-time care decisions, and more personalized healthcare delivery.Pradeep Javangula (Everest VC) introduces autonomous AI agents designed to act as collaborative teammates across surgical planning, logistics, and revenue cycle operations.This session sets the tone for what DOCSF is all about. Bold ideas, practical solutions, and the future of digital health in action. Tune in to hear how AI is evolving from a buzzword to a backbone in healthcare.