EP 153: The 60-Minute Window: Engineering Solutions for Faster STEMI Diagnosis

In this episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra welcomes Dr Rakesh Shah, a former interventional cardiologist, Oxford MBA graduate, and founder of DRS.LINQ. Dr Shah brings a unique perspective on addressing critical delays in heart attack diagnosis through the intersection of clinical medicine, engineering, and business strategy.

The conversation explores a pressing challenge in cardiovascular care: the majority of cardiac damage occurs within the first hour of symptom onset, yet treatment activation often takes several hours. Dr Shah introduces mHeart, a mobile EKG platform designed to create a "virtual cardiology office." Unlike consumer wearables that lack critical chest leads, this technology enables patients to initiate comprehensive cardiac evaluation anywhere—at home, at work, or while traveling—transmitting diagnostic-quality data directly to cardiologists.

The episode delves into Dr Shah's diverse career path and offers candid advice for physician-entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with professional business leaders to achieve scalability. Looking ahead, Dr Shah discusses the integration of AI and machine learning into mobile diagnostic platforms as essential tools for an aging workforce and overstretched healthcare system.

Questions and comments can be sent to "podcast@radcliffe-group.com" and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode.

Host: @AnkurKalraMD and produced by: @RadcliffeCardio

Parallax is Ranked in the Top 100 Health Science Podcasts (#48) by Million Podcasts.