Gastroenterologists, like all physicians, are focused on patient care in their specialty, from inflammatory bowel disease and Barrett's esophagus to colorectal cancer screening and liver disease. Here are eight gastroenterologists who have invented devices and treatments applicable to their field of care.
If you would like to recommend a gastroenterologist for this list, please contact Carrie Pallardy at cpallardy@beckershealthcare.com.
David Ahlquist, MD, is a professor of medicine and gastroenterologist with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. Ahlquist is the co-inventor of the recently FDA-approved noninvasive colorectal cancer screening stool test. Cologuard was developed through collaboration between Exact Sciences and Mayo Clinic.
Craig Aronchick, MD, practices at Aronchick Gastroenterology in Philadelphia. He also practices at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In 1992, Dr. Aronchick invented the colonoscopy preparation tablet OSMOPREP. OSMOPREP is marketed through Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Robert Ganz, MD, practices with Minnesota Gastroenterology in Saint Paul. He has more than 25 patents in the medical field. He co-founded the device company Barrx Medical, which focuses on Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. Dr. Ganz is also the chief of gastroenterology at Abbot Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Robert Gilbert, MD, is the co-founder of RightBio Metrics, a company focused on fluid measurement technologies. Dr. Gilbert founded the company with his son, emergency medicine physician Paul J. Gilbert, MD. Dr. Gilbert's background in gastroenterology served to help the company develop a number of its technologies. He still practices gastroenterology and providers consulting services to RightBio Metrics
Mark Johnston, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF, holds four patents for the treatment of Barrett's esophagus through cryotherapy. Dr. Johnston, a former Navy medical officer, has served as gastroenterologist to the White House. He now practices with Lancaster (Pa.) Gastroenterology Procedure Center.
Samuel Klein, MD, is the co-inventor of AspireAssist, a weight loss device designed to drain stomach contents through an endoscopically implant tube. Dr. Klein worked with gastroenterologist Moshe Shike, MD, and radiologist Stephen Solomon, MD, to create the device. Dr. Klein is the William H. Danforth Professor of Medicine and Nutritional Science and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Aspire Bariatrics, the company that develops AspireAssist, was founded in 2005.
Moshe Shike, MD, is the co-inventor of AspireAssist a weight loss device designed to drain stomach contents through an endoscopically implant tube. The device was collaboratively developed by Dr. Shike, Samuel Klein, MD, and Stephen Solomon, MD. Dr. Shike is an attending physician and director of clinical nutrition at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Fred Silverstein, MD, was named the University of Washington's Inventor of the Year in 2013. Dr. Silverstein holds more than 50 patents in the medical field. Dr. Silverstein helped found Vision Sciences and Lucent Medical Systems. He has worked with Vision Sciences to mitigate the risk of cross contamination in endoscopy, amongst several other projects. He directs and serves as a consultant for Lucent Medical, which develops non-radiographic technology for the placement of devices inserted into the body.