November 1, 2024 • 17 mins
The AHF Shark Tank
In this episode, Joseph M. Schwab interviews Dr. Charlie DeCook, co-founder of the Anterior Hip Foundation (AHF). They discuss the origins and evolution of the AHF Shark Tank, a platform for orthopedic surgeons and innovators to present their ideas to industry executives. The conversation highlights the importance of learning from feedback, the role of capitalism in innovation, and the shifting focus from implant technology to surgical techniques and tech innovations. They also touch upon the impact of the AHF Shark Tank on the broader orthopedic community and the potential advancements for the 2025 Shark Tank event.
Register for AHF 2025 today by going to:
https://anteriorhipfoundation.com/ahf2025-nashville/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Joseph M. Schwab (00:07):
Are you looking to bring an orthopedic
product to market?
Do you need a place to showcaseyour business idea in front of
top industry executives andpotential surgeon customers?
Or maybe you just love seeingand hearing new ideas before
they really hit the market.
Since 2018, the Anterior HipFoundation has showcased an
Innovation Shark Tank session atthe annual meeting.
(00:29):
My guest today is Dr.
Charlie DeCook, co-founder ofthe Anterior Hip Foundation and
the driving force behind the AHFShark Tank.
Charlie, the AHF Shark Tank isperennially recognized as one
of, if not the most popularsessions.
You were instrumental in itsdevelopment and you continue to
be a driving force behind it.
(00:50):
Tell our listeners a little bitabout the history of the AHF
shark tank.
Charlie DeCook (00:55):
Joe, thanks for having me on.
I'm super excited to be on thispodcast with you.
I've heard great things aboutthis podcast.
I'm looking forward to, speakingwith you and talking all about
the Anterior Hip Foundation andinnovation.
But, thanks for having me.
And, I guess to answer yourquestion, the shark tank really
came about, at a time, obviouslywhen the shark tank was on TV
(01:16):
and it was really inspiring alot of people outside of
medicine, orthopedics to, startcreating things.
And, started to have businessmind associated with the Shark
Tank.
So we thought, this would be agreat opportunity for us to
bring this into the medicalspace and specifically the
medical device space.
And, boy, it is just caught on.
(01:37):
The Shark Tank has just been asuper popular session, probably
for a lot of reasons, butprobably most importantly, it's
probably inspiring.
So there's a lot of buddingorthopedic innovators out there,
mostly orthopedic surgeons.
Certainly there's plenty of nonsurgeons that, attend the
meeting and have innovations.
(01:58):
But I think we've geared itmostly towards innovative
surgeons that have ideas eitherearly or later on in the process
as we take a idea to market.
And, it's been super, superoverwhelmingly successful over
the years.
So I'm super excited to talk toyou about it today.
Joseph M. Schwab (02:17):
What I'm interested in knowing, from your
perspective, how has the sessionevolved over time?
Charlie DeCook (02:23):
Yeah.
I think at the beginning, wewere just, winging it, so to
speak.
we were thinking, boy, what aresome cool technologies that we
have heard of that franklyhaven't hit the mainstream yet?
We wanted to get the word outabout specific innovations we
had heard of, or people hadapproached us about, and we
thought AHF would be a greatmechanism to do that.
(02:45):
And I think over time, what'shappened is not only have the
products improved, but thesurgeons have improved in terms
of their presentation styles, interms of their business models.
So as that has improved, we'vehad to up our game.
We had great sharks early on,but now we've progressed towards
(03:05):
more seasoned sharks, thatreally like Mr.
Wonderful, so to speak.
So we've certainly gathered someincredible ones from,
ZimmerBiomet, from Stryker, fromDePuySynthes, I guess now J&J
MedTech.
we've been able to attract somecool sharks and I think that's
probably been our best featureover the last few years that
(03:29):
we've taken the big three,sometimes the big four or five
and brought them all together.
and they've given us a hugeamount of perspective.
most of these folks fromindustry have been in the,
industry for over 20 years,they've literally heard
thousands of pitches oninnovation and they've helped,
(03:51):
create the acquisitions forthese companies.
So it's given them an incredibleperspective.
So I think that what's changedthe most is probably the sharks.
Unfortunately, the host hasn'tchanged at all, but, the, but
the sharks certainly have andthe products and the surgeons
have changed a ton.
Joseph M. Schwab (04:10):
So when you get these top execs at, these
large companies, was that adifficult sell for them to
participate or were theyenthusiastic to be involved?
Tell me more about that.
Charlie DeCook (04:22):
I thought at first that there would be
pushback.
Obviously there's competitivecompanies, you've got the big
three that are always competingtogether, but they are, have
been so cordial, so inviting.
I've been shocked at how muchthat they've wanted to
participate.
They've eagerly done it everyyear.
I haven't had to beg anyone todo it.
In fact, they're eager.
They've reached out to me andsaid, Hey, are we doing it again
(04:44):
next year?
so there's been a total, Passionaround this because I think it
gives them also a way for themto speak about their company,
how they look at innovationtechnology, maybe a little bit
differently than the othercompany.
And I think you could see that.
I think you could see each sharkgives a different perspective
on, what a Stryker, ZimmerBiometor a J&J look at when they're
(05:09):
looking to acquire a company ora product.
so I think they give a differentperspective and I think they're
eager to share.
this is an open industry.
there's a lot of different ideasgetting thrown around and it's,
to me, a very open relationship.
So it's been great.
They've been very cordial,different sharks don't really
(05:31):
bicker at all, although weprobably should initiate that
this year where they fight backand forth and bid on something.
It's too bad we couldn't makethis so that they would actually
acquire a company at the end ofthe shark tank.
But, it's really a goodopportunity, not only for the
surgeons that are bringing theproducts to shark tank, but it's
also a great opportunity.
for the audience to listen in.
So we've literally had hundredsof innovators in the audience,
(05:55):
taking notes, learning fromthis, in the process, as Joe, as
we have polls at the end thatallow us to really help.
Refine the shark tank over time.
And I think one of the thingswe've learned is.
We need to keep thesepresentations relatively short
and have plenty of time for thesharks to really start peppering
(06:16):
them with questions.
So we like to keep it betweenseven and eight minutes of
actual presentation time wherethey do their quick elevator
pitch of their product.
And then most of the time is forthe sharks to really tear into
them and their idea.
And they've been very kind tothem in the past.
I think we've had severalproducts where I would have
totally, torn them apart.
(06:36):
But, the sharks have been superkind to them.
we'll see how it goes this year.
we got, one or two new sharksthat may or may not bring a,
different personality to thetable.
So we're gonna see, we're gonnasee if the surgeons survive the
Shark Tank this year.
Joseph M. Schwab (06:53):
So let's talk a little bit about this year
from the perspective of asurgeon entrepreneur, somebody
trying to bring a new product tomarket.
Tell me a little bit about whythey would want to participate
in this.
Are they, is it just a, do theywant to run the gauntlet to test
their idea?
Or is this really an opportunityto get them in front of
potential customers or maybeit's something else?
Charlie DeCook (07:16):
Yeah, I think probably the first.
And probably the most importantreason why a surgeon should
bring their innovation to theshark tank is you are going to
learn.
you are going to learn a lotfrom these sharks.
You're going to learn a lot fromthe audience when they get
questions from the audienceabout your product and give you
a different perspective.
(07:36):
the problem when we develop aninnovation or a product, we
become in love with it.
And we only see what's greatabout it.
It's like our Children,oftentimes it is so great for a
shark or one of the audiencemember members of AHF to really
give you a totally differentperspective and say, Oh, my
gosh, my baby is a little bitugly.
Or maybe I need to pivot at thispoint and change my business
(08:00):
model.
so I think that's By far, thenumber one is to really help you
improve how you're looking andchanging your perspective on
your product.
That's number one.
Number two is, they give helpfuladvice.
these sharks are just giving outfree advice to you about what to
change, what to tweak, how tochange your business model.
(08:20):
So this is fantastic for you toget that kind of experience.
And I would say third is justthe ability to expose your
product.
Most surgeons that come andbring their product think, this
is a great chance for me toexpose my product to the public
and to these sharks in industryand so they bring a product and
(08:41):
then they get to show it.
And they get to prove out whatthey've literally taken years
and years to develop.
And I think that's why most ofthese surgeons come to these
shark tanks is for thatexposure.
But I think they leave with adifferent feeling.
They leave with a feeling, mygoodness, I've just learned so
much more about, about theproduct that I've been trying to
(09:02):
develop.
I think that's probably the mostexciting thing for me to see is
the change because at first it'sexposure.
I want to expose my product tothe market.
And then at the end, it's oh,valuable feedback that I can now
change.
Joseph M. Schwab (09:16):
From your perspective, why has it been a
priority really for the AHF orfor you to work on highlighting
this sort of relationshipbetween surgeons, industry and
entrepreneurship?
Charlie DeCook (09:29):
Really, we are in the crux, in the thick of
being in the marketplace.
We believe in capitalism and webelieve that innovation happens
as a result of capitalism.
So we embrace the relationshipbetween the surgeon and
industry.
We think as long as things are,disclosed.
We think that true innovationcomes between the two, between
(09:53):
innovation and the surgeon.
And we want to facilitate thatas much as possible.
it's interesting.
Industry these days has becomevery large.
and has become verybureaucratic.
And I think the big three andcertainly other companies in the
orthopedic med device space havehad a hard time innovating and
(10:13):
really bringing our product tomarket because of all the red
tape and bureaucracy that theyfind themselves in.
And we're seeing more and moreof these companies looking
outside of their companies forinnovations.
They're looking to acquirecompanies.
And I think AHF's vision wasthat, boy, maybe we can help
facilitate these relationships,facilitate ideas, and facilitate
(10:37):
the relationship between thesurgeon and the medical device
company in a way that probablyhasn't been done before.
Joseph M. Schwab (10:45):
How do you feel the Shark Tank has had an
impact on both the growth of theAnterior Hip Foundation, as well
as on how other.
similar organizations areholding or running their
meetings.
we've seen over the last coupleof years now some copycats come
(11:06):
along with, ortho innovationsymposiums, and at the Academy
in 2024, there was now a way forentrepreneurs to present their
ideas to industry.
How has that impacted?
Do you think the greaterorthopedic community?
Charlie DeCook (11:20):
Yeah, I love it.
I love the fact that other,either educational platforms or
the Academy or AAHKS are reallyembracing this idea.
listen, imitation is the bestform of flattery.
And, I wouldn't say we obviouslyhad the first idea of shark
tank.
We stole the idea of the sharktank to begin with from TV we're
(11:44):
certainly not the owners ofthat, but it does help
facilitate that.
And we think that the anteriorhip foundation is at the core of
that, priority.
And that is innovation is goingto drive things moving forward
for orthopedics.
it has been from the beginningas we thought through implants
(12:06):
and how John Charnley starteddeveloping his hip.
We've seen that innovationchange over time and it's moved
away from the implant as we'vegotten these incredible implants
that last Unbelievable amountsof time we've seen wear that is,
unexpected in terms of we'vealmost reduced or eliminated the
(12:27):
wear that we've used to dealwith.
And now we've pivoted from theimplant to technology.
And now we're in a totally newrealm where we're really trying
to improve the surgicaltechnique through technology.
And to me, this is more excitingthan the implant age.
I think a lot of surgeons think,oh, I missed my opportunity to
develop implants or haveroyalties or all that kind of
(12:50):
stuff.
To be honest with you, I thinkthat was so boring in a lot of
respects.
There's a lot of surgeons thatdid incredible work and they did
incredible things.
And I don't want to call thatboring, but for us at this
point, that has come and gone.
The implant technologies arethere.
They will make little tweaksover time that I think we're
going to see.
But I think the real excitingmoments now are in tech.
(13:13):
And so we're now at theforefront between orthopedic
companies, tech and surgeons,and AHF has been able to
facilitate that, at the core ofAHF is innovation.
And that is something we want tofacilitate.
That's why we highlight theshark tank so much at the AHF
this year.
Joseph M. Schwab (13:32):
Yeah, the, it's interesting when you talk
about implants, concepts likemetallurgy and, different
composite materials that's,those are well established
sciences and maybe you're makingtweaks on the edges, but how's
an entrepreneur getting intotech going to be keeping up with
the pace of innovation in areaslike AI with different, AI type
(13:54):
models coming out every fewweeks, if not every few days,
and utilizing those in theproducts that they want to bring
to market.
Charlie DeCook (14:04):
Boy, that's a good point.
I think we have to step outsideof our industry.
orthopedics is way behind thetimes.
Medical devices way behind thetimes.
if you look at Google's andApple's and Microsoft and,
OpenAI, these tech, thesecompanies are so much further
(14:25):
along than we are.
I'll give a shout out to peoplelike, Beanie at Doc SF.
I'll give a shout out to otherpodcasts that I listen to the
all in podcast there's all thesedifferent new tech podcasts and
Technology firms that we canlearn from and incorporate them
into the orthopedic med devicespace I think that's the most
(14:49):
exciting thing for me is thatwe're so far behind the curve
that frankly any new innovationyou bring is going to be far
above what we currently have inorthopedics.
Joseph M. Schwab (15:00):
speaking of innovation, are there new
innovative, developments for the2025 shark tank that you want to
share?
Charlie DeCook (15:07):
Ooh, that's a good question.
we're collecting all theparticipants now.
So if you happen to be listeningto this podcast, please, by all
means, if you feel comfortableand ready to share and bring
public what you have developed,this is the time we are
collecting it over the nextthree months.
So I'm not going to reveal anyof those that we've decided to,
(15:28):
bring on for AHF 2025.
I will say there's been agroundswell of unbelievable
surgeons and products this year.
So we have a, a decision makingprocess and how we decide which
products we're going to pick.
you'll see on the, website, theability to submit your product
(15:50):
and, or submit your idea to AHF.
And then we go through a, acommittee that selects those
that will be chosen.
I think this year we're going tochoose six or seven, new
products.
So it's, become a tight processto get into the AHF but, and the
shark tank, but, please submitto the website.
(16:13):
I think it would be superhelpful.
Joseph M. Schwab (16:15):
We can put a link to it in the show notes.
Charlie, it's been great asalways to see you and to talk
with you.
And thank you for talking,taking the time to talk with me
today.
Charlie DeCook (16:26):
Joe is honored to be with the president of AHF
and you've done a fantastic job.
Unbelievable.
And what a privilege it is to beon this podcast.
Super excited to inspire thenext generation of surgeon
entrepreneurs and innovators.
And, we urge you to bring yourproduct to AHF Shark Tank 2025.
Joseph M. Schwab (16:47):
Registration for the AHF 2025 annual meeting
appetite for disruption is open.
Go to anteriorhipfoundation.
com to secure your spot.
And most importantly, Secureyour hotel accommodations.
The country music awards will begoing on at the same time, which
means Nashville will be anincredible place to be, but a
hard place to find lodging.
(17:08):
So again, go toanteriorhipfoundation.
com to register or check theshow notes for a direct link to
the meetings registration page.
Join us every Friday for a newepisode of the AHF podcast.
You can find us in audio form inyour favorite podcast app or
watch our video podcast onYouTube.
Don't forget to like andsubscribe and leave us a five
(17:30):
star review to help us reach awider audience.
Until next week, this is JoeSchwab reminding you to keep
those hips happy and healthy.
Are you looking to bring an orthopedic
product to market?
Do you need a place to showcaseyour business idea in front of
top industry executives andpotential surgeon customers?
Or maybe you just love seeingand hearing new ideas before
they really hit the market.
Since 2018, the Anterior HipFoundation has showcased an
Innovation Shark Tank session atthe annual meeting.
(00:29):
My guest today is Dr.
Charlie DeCook, co-founder ofthe Anterior Hip Foundation and
the driving force behind the AHFShark Tank.
Charlie, the AHF Shark Tank isperennially recognized as one
of, if not the most popularsessions.
You were instrumental in itsdevelopment and you continue to
be a driving force behind it.
(00:50):
Tell our listeners a little bitabout the history of the AHF
shark tank.
Charlie DeCook (00:55):
Joe, thanks for having me on.
I'm super excited to be on thispodcast with you.
I've heard great things aboutthis podcast.
I'm looking forward to, speakingwith you and talking all about
the Anterior Hip Foundation andinnovation.
But, thanks for having me.
And, I guess to answer yourquestion, the shark tank really
came about, at a time, obviouslywhen the shark tank was on TV
(01:16):
and it was really inspiring alot of people outside of
medicine, orthopedics to, startcreating things.
And, started to have businessmind associated with the Shark
Tank.
So we thought, this would be agreat opportunity for us to
bring this into the medicalspace and specifically the
medical device space.
And, boy, it is just caught on.
(01:37):
The Shark Tank has just been asuper popular session, probably
for a lot of reasons, butprobably most importantly, it's
probably inspiring.
So there's a lot of buddingorthopedic innovators out there,
mostly orthopedic surgeons.
Certainly there's plenty of nonsurgeons that, attend the
meeting and have innovations.
(01:58):
But I think we've geared itmostly towards innovative
surgeons that have ideas eitherearly or later on in the process
as we take a idea to market.
And, it's been super, superoverwhelmingly successful over
the years.
So I'm super excited to talk toyou about it today.
Joseph M. Schwab (02:17):
What I'm interested in knowing, from your
perspective, how has the sessionevolved over time?
Charlie DeCook (02:23):
Yeah.
I think at the beginning, wewere just, winging it, so to
speak.
we were thinking, boy, what aresome cool technologies that we
have heard of that franklyhaven't hit the mainstream yet?
We wanted to get the word outabout specific innovations we
had heard of, or people hadapproached us about, and we
thought AHF would be a greatmechanism to do that.
(02:45):
And I think over time, what'shappened is not only have the
products improved, but thesurgeons have improved in terms
of their presentation styles, interms of their business models.
So as that has improved, we'vehad to up our game.
We had great sharks early on,but now we've progressed towards
(03:05):
more seasoned sharks, thatreally like Mr.
Wonderful, so to speak.
So we've certainly gathered someincredible ones from,
ZimmerBiomet, from Stryker, fromDePuySynthes, I guess now J&J
MedTech.
we've been able to attract somecool sharks and I think that's
probably been our best featureover the last few years that
(03:29):
we've taken the big three,sometimes the big four or five
and brought them all together.
and they've given us a hugeamount of perspective.
most of these folks fromindustry have been in the,
industry for over 20 years,they've literally heard
thousands of pitches oninnovation and they've helped,
(03:51):
create the acquisitions forthese companies.
So it's given them an incredibleperspective.
So I think that what's changedthe most is probably the sharks.
Unfortunately, the host hasn'tchanged at all, but, the, but
the sharks certainly have andthe products and the surgeons
have changed a ton.
Joseph M. Schwab (04:10):
So when you get these top execs at, these
large companies, was that adifficult sell for them to
participate or were theyenthusiastic to be involved?
Tell me more about that.
Charlie DeCook (04:22):
I thought at first that there would be
pushback.
Obviously there's competitivecompanies, you've got the big
three that are always competingtogether, but they are, have
been so cordial, so inviting.
I've been shocked at how muchthat they've wanted to
participate.
They've eagerly done it everyyear.
I haven't had to beg anyone todo it.
In fact, they're eager.
They've reached out to me andsaid, Hey, are we doing it again
(04:44):
next year?
so there's been a total, Passionaround this because I think it
gives them also a way for themto speak about their company,
how they look at innovationtechnology, maybe a little bit
differently than the othercompany.
And I think you could see that.
I think you could see each sharkgives a different perspective
on, what a Stryker, ZimmerBiometor a J&J look at when they're
(05:09):
looking to acquire a company ora product.
so I think they give a differentperspective and I think they're
eager to share.
this is an open industry.
there's a lot of different ideasgetting thrown around and it's,
to me, a very open relationship.
So it's been great.
They've been very cordial,different sharks don't really
(05:31):
bicker at all, although weprobably should initiate that
this year where they fight backand forth and bid on something.
It's too bad we couldn't makethis so that they would actually
acquire a company at the end ofthe shark tank.
But, it's really a goodopportunity, not only for the
surgeons that are bringing theproducts to shark tank, but it's
also a great opportunity.
for the audience to listen in.
So we've literally had hundredsof innovators in the audience,
(05:55):
taking notes, learning fromthis, in the process, as Joe, as
we have polls at the end thatallow us to really help.
Refine the shark tank over time.
And I think one of the thingswe've learned is.
We need to keep thesepresentations relatively short
and have plenty of time for thesharks to really start peppering
(06:16):
them with questions.
So we like to keep it betweenseven and eight minutes of
actual presentation time wherethey do their quick elevator
pitch of their product.
And then most of the time is forthe sharks to really tear into
them and their idea.
And they've been very kind tothem in the past.
I think we've had severalproducts where I would have
totally, torn them apart.
(06:36):
But, the sharks have been superkind to them.
we'll see how it goes this year.
we got, one or two new sharksthat may or may not bring a,
different personality to thetable.
So we're gonna see, we're gonnasee if the surgeons survive the
Shark Tank this year.
Joseph M. Schwab (06:53):
So let's talk a little bit about this year
from the perspective of asurgeon entrepreneur, somebody
trying to bring a new product tomarket.
Tell me a little bit about whythey would want to participate
in this.
Are they, is it just a, do theywant to run the gauntlet to test
their idea?
Or is this really an opportunityto get them in front of
potential customers or maybeit's something else?
Charlie DeCook (07:16):
Yeah, I think probably the first.
And probably the most importantreason why a surgeon should
bring their innovation to theshark tank is you are going to
learn.
you are going to learn a lotfrom these sharks.
You're going to learn a lot fromthe audience when they get
questions from the audienceabout your product and give you
a different perspective.
(07:36):
the problem when we develop aninnovation or a product, we
become in love with it.
And we only see what's greatabout it.
It's like our Children,oftentimes it is so great for a
shark or one of the audiencemember members of AHF to really
give you a totally differentperspective and say, Oh, my
gosh, my baby is a little bitugly.
Or maybe I need to pivot at thispoint and change my business
(08:00):
model.
so I think that's By far, thenumber one is to really help you
improve how you're looking andchanging your perspective on
your product.
That's number one.
Number two is, they give helpfuladvice.
these sharks are just giving outfree advice to you about what to
change, what to tweak, how tochange your business model.
(08:20):
So this is fantastic for you toget that kind of experience.
And I would say third is justthe ability to expose your
product.
Most surgeons that come andbring their product think, this
is a great chance for me toexpose my product to the public
and to these sharks in industryand so they bring a product and
(08:41):
then they get to show it.
And they get to prove out whatthey've literally taken years
and years to develop.
And I think that's why most ofthese surgeons come to these
shark tanks is for thatexposure.
But I think they leave with adifferent feeling.
They leave with a feeling, mygoodness, I've just learned so
much more about, about theproduct that I've been trying to
(09:02):
develop.
I think that's probably the mostexciting thing for me to see is
the change because at first it'sexposure.
I want to expose my product tothe market.
And then at the end, it's oh,valuable feedback that I can now
change.
Joseph M. Schwab (09:16):
From your perspective, why has it been a
priority really for the AHF orfor you to work on highlighting
this sort of relationshipbetween surgeons, industry and
entrepreneurship?
Charlie DeCook (09:29):
Really, we are in the crux, in the thick of
being in the marketplace.
We believe in capitalism and webelieve that innovation happens
as a result of capitalism.
So we embrace the relationshipbetween the surgeon and
industry.
We think as long as things are,disclosed.
We think that true innovationcomes between the two, between
(09:53):
innovation and the surgeon.
And we want to facilitate thatas much as possible.
it's interesting.
Industry these days has becomevery large.
and has become verybureaucratic.
And I think the big three andcertainly other companies in the
orthopedic med device space havehad a hard time innovating and
(10:13):
really bringing our product tomarket because of all the red
tape and bureaucracy that theyfind themselves in.
And we're seeing more and moreof these companies looking
outside of their companies forinnovations.
They're looking to acquirecompanies.
And I think AHF's vision wasthat, boy, maybe we can help
facilitate these relationships,facilitate ideas, and facilitate
(10:37):
the relationship between thesurgeon and the medical device
company in a way that probablyhasn't been done before.
Joseph M. Schwab (10:45):
How do you feel the Shark Tank has had an
impact on both the growth of theAnterior Hip Foundation, as well
as on how other.
similar organizations areholding or running their
meetings.
we've seen over the last coupleof years now some copycats come
(11:06):
along with, ortho innovationsymposiums, and at the Academy
in 2024, there was now a way forentrepreneurs to present their
ideas to industry.
How has that impacted?
Do you think the greaterorthopedic community?
Charlie DeCook (11:20):
Yeah, I love it.
I love the fact that other,either educational platforms or
the Academy or AAHKS are reallyembracing this idea.
listen, imitation is the bestform of flattery.
And, I wouldn't say we obviouslyhad the first idea of shark
tank.
We stole the idea of the sharktank to begin with from TV we're
(11:44):
certainly not the owners ofthat, but it does help
facilitate that.
And we think that the anteriorhip foundation is at the core of
that, priority.
And that is innovation is goingto drive things moving forward
for orthopedics.
it has been from the beginningas we thought through implants
(12:06):
and how John Charnley starteddeveloping his hip.
We've seen that innovationchange over time and it's moved
away from the implant as we'vegotten these incredible implants
that last Unbelievable amountsof time we've seen wear that is,
unexpected in terms of we'vealmost reduced or eliminated the
(12:27):
wear that we've used to dealwith.
And now we've pivoted from theimplant to technology.
And now we're in a totally newrealm where we're really trying
to improve the surgicaltechnique through technology.
And to me, this is more excitingthan the implant age.
I think a lot of surgeons think,oh, I missed my opportunity to
develop implants or haveroyalties or all that kind of
(12:50):
stuff.
To be honest with you, I thinkthat was so boring in a lot of
respects.
There's a lot of surgeons thatdid incredible work and they did
incredible things.
And I don't want to call thatboring, but for us at this
point, that has come and gone.
The implant technologies arethere.
They will make little tweaksover time that I think we're
going to see.
But I think the real excitingmoments now are in tech.
(13:13):
And so we're now at theforefront between orthopedic
companies, tech and surgeons,and AHF has been able to
facilitate that, at the core ofAHF is innovation.
And that is something we want tofacilitate.
That's why we highlight theshark tank so much at the AHF
this year.
Joseph M. Schwab (13:32):
Yeah, the, it's interesting when you talk
about implants, concepts likemetallurgy and, different
composite materials that's,those are well established
sciences and maybe you're makingtweaks on the edges, but how's
an entrepreneur getting intotech going to be keeping up with
the pace of innovation in areaslike AI with different, AI type
(13:54):
models coming out every fewweeks, if not every few days,
and utilizing those in theproducts that they want to bring
to market.
Charlie DeCook (14:04):
Boy, that's a good point.
I think we have to step outsideof our industry.
orthopedics is way behind thetimes.
Medical devices way behind thetimes.
if you look at Google's andApple's and Microsoft and,
OpenAI, these tech, thesecompanies are so much further
(14:25):
along than we are.
I'll give a shout out to peoplelike, Beanie at Doc SF.
I'll give a shout out to otherpodcasts that I listen to the
all in podcast there's all thesedifferent new tech podcasts and
Technology firms that we canlearn from and incorporate them
into the orthopedic med devicespace I think that's the most
(14:49):
exciting thing for me is thatwe're so far behind the curve
that frankly any new innovationyou bring is going to be far
above what we currently have inorthopedics.
Joseph M. Schwab (15:00):
speaking of innovation, are there new
innovative, developments for the2025 shark tank that you want to
share?
Charlie DeCook (15:07):
Ooh, that's a good question.
we're collecting all theparticipants now.
So if you happen to be listeningto this podcast, please, by all
means, if you feel comfortableand ready to share and bring
public what you have developed,this is the time we are
collecting it over the nextthree months.
So I'm not going to reveal anyof those that we've decided to,
(15:28):
bring on for AHF 2025.
I will say there's been agroundswell of unbelievable
surgeons and products this year.
So we have a, a decision makingprocess and how we decide which
products we're going to pick.
you'll see on the, website, theability to submit your product
(15:50):
and, or submit your idea to AHF.
And then we go through a, acommittee that selects those
that will be chosen.
I think this year we're going tochoose six or seven, new
products.
So it's, become a tight processto get into the AHF but, and the
shark tank, but, please submitto the website.
(16:13):
I think it would be superhelpful.
Joseph M. Schwab (16:15):
We can put a link to it in the show notes.
Charlie, it's been great asalways to see you and to talk
with you.
And thank you for talking,taking the time to talk with me
today.
Charlie DeCook (16:26):
Joe is honored to be with the president of AHF
and you've done a fantastic job.
Unbelievable.
And what a privilege it is to beon this podcast.
Super excited to inspire thenext generation of surgeon
entrepreneurs and innovators.
And, we urge you to bring yourproduct to AHF Shark Tank 2025.
Joseph M. Schwab (16:47):
Registration for the AHF 2025 annual meeting
appetite for disruption is open.
Go to anteriorhipfoundation.
com to secure your spot.
And most importantly, Secureyour hotel accommodations.
The country music awards will begoing on at the same time, which
means Nashville will be anincredible place to be, but a
hard place to find lodging.
(17:08):
So again, go toanteriorhipfoundation.
com to register or check theshow notes for a direct link to
the meetings registration page.
Join us every Friday for a newepisode of the AHF podcast.
You can find us in audio form inyour favorite podcast app or
watch our video podcast onYouTube.
Don't forget to like andsubscribe and leave us a five
(17:30):
star review to help us reach awider audience.
Until next week, this is JoeSchwab reminding you to keep
those hips happy and healthy.
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