Medical Innovation Series: Founders Unfiltered - Stories of Pitfalls, Pivots and Wins in Early Stage Medtech

​Event Description: 
Join us for the first of 3 sessions in BioNext's Medical Innovation Series - Navigating the path from first steps to first pitch.

​This will be an engaging fireside chat with early-stage MedTech entrepreneurs and leaders as they share candid stories of challenges, pivots, and breakthroughs in building and scaling innovations. Whether you’re an aspiring founder, a clinician innovator, or part of the health innovation ecosystem, you’ll gain practical insights into navigating the complexities of early-stage MedTech. 

​Panelists: 

• ​Arash Samimi, PhD – CEO and Managing Partner, Eliomedica 
  Arash leads Eliomedica, a medical device strategy firm advancing technologies from diagnostics to robotics and combination products. With a background spanning physics, systems engineering, startups, and consulting, he brings a multi-angle perspective to regulatory, R&D, and go-to-market challenges. 

• ​Meagan Furnivall, RM – Head of Midwifery, LHSC & CEO, Empower Elle 
  Meagan is a clinician researcher and midwife who leads maternal-newborn health system innovations at LHSC. She is also the founder of Empower Elle, a femtech company advancing comfort and dignity during the perinatal period, combining clinical leadership with entrepreneurial drive. 

• ​Sydney Robinson, MEng – Co-Founder & CEO, Vessl Prosthetics 
  Sydney’s passion for biomechanics and medical device innovation led her to co-found Vessl, a company developing prosthetic solutions to improve comfort and mobility for amputees. A graduate of Western’s Medical Innovation Fellowship, she is building a high-performing team dedicated to reinvention in prosthetic care.