Introducing physician advisor Dr. Richard Heuser, an interventional cardiologist at Phoenix Heart Center, and chief of cardiology and the cardiac catheterization laboratory at St. Luke’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 

• Physician advisor since: Q4 2015
• Current priority projects: Five startup companies, one devoted to treatment of chronic kidney disease via renal denervation, a second with a suite of products to assist with complicated coronary and peripheral angioplasty, a third offering a less painful way (smaller needle) to access arteries during radial procedures, a fourth working on devices for mitral valvular disease and a fifth providing a catheter-based procedure called PQ Bypass for complicated peripheral vascular disease
• Most recent project with HealthTrust: Clinical evidence review and peer-to-peer discussion about a suite of peripheral products, including non-polymer drug-eluting stents (DES), bioresorbable stents and atherectomy devices
• His take on the engagement process: “HealthTrust takes a judicious, conservative approach to the review of medical devices, and it is fun to be part of the process because it includes not just mature products but also newly approved ones (e.g., Philip Phoenix atherectomy system) that are still working to prove their value. There’s a lot of useful interface among physicians, which makes for slow but methodical decision-making. I personally had the opportunity to share the experience of European investigators with Boston Scientific’s non-polymer DES, which pointed to physician experience or a lot issue as plausible explanations for reports of stents detaching from balloons. We’ve learned from the Abbott [bioresorbable stent] experience that we can’t jump to utilize every product out there if we want to do right by our patients. As I have explained to my colleagues at St. Luke’s, there were major problems in animal studies of these stents back in the 1980s. Investigators were reporting no inflammation as devices were being resorbed by the body, which, scientifically speaking, is fake news.”
• Latest professional milestones: Being interviewed about his pioneering work and clinical innovations for an article published by the American College of Cardiology last October, and recent CE mark approval in Europe of his PQ Bypass procedure and a device that inhibits embolization during percutaneous or surgical aortic valve replacement
• Fun facts: He’s a runner who used to run the Boston Marathon every year but now competes mostly in 5Ks and this fall will defend his state title as the speediest half-marathoner in his age group
• Educational background: Medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in Madison, Wisconsin; and internship, residency and fellowship in cardiology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland
• His family: Wife Shari; and daughter Alexandra, son-in-law James and granddaughter Anastasia who live in England
• Passionate about: New technology development
• Currently reading: “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance and “George Armstrong Custer: A Biography” by Mark L. Gardner
• Collaborators wanted: Nephrologists, urologists and hypertensive specialists to work with his company Verve Medical that makes medical devices used for renal denervation treatment
• Favorite quote: Einstein – “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” (Albert Einstein)
• How to contact Dr. Heuser: Email Sarah Wooten to make the request