You recently held the 9th annual AGA Tech Summit. How did it go?
Dr. Muthusamy: The meeting went very well and provided critical guidance and networking opportunities for physician innovators, industry, regulators and investors involved in developing new technologies/treatments for digestive disorders.
Dr. Komanduri: The 2018 AGA Tech Summit was a great success. Our theme of "Innovation to Adoption" was carried over in many stellar lectures, panel discussions, and networking sessions.
What was the most exciting aspect of this year’s AGA Tech Summit?
Dr. Muthusamy: I think the Shark Tank presentations were among the best and most innovative that we have had since we initiated this session as the flagship of the AGA Tech Summit. Presentations included a novel inexpensive point-of-care diagnostic testing for causes of diarrhea, a new product to facilitate video management from endoscopic procedures, an accurate way to measure polyp size/lumen diameter during endoscopy, a novel anti-aspiration nasogastric tube and a device to provide treatment endoscopically to esophageal tumors. This year, the presenters also had a chance to participate in a poster session to encourage attendee interaction and this was a big success. The sharks and the audience agreed on the winner of this year’s Shark Tank — GoDx – the point of care testing for diarrhea. There was also a great deal of interaction between innovators and industry during the networking breaks and many useful sessions focusing on early innovation and guidance on how to successfully commercialize new technologies.
What unmet needs in innovation were identified?
Dr. Komanduri: The format of the Tech Summit allowed attendees to better understand the gaps which exist across various disease states. From obesity, tissue resection, to digital health, the summit allowed innovators, industry professionals, and gastroenterologists to identify areas of need and discuss concrete steps in bridging these gaps in innovation.
How will the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology continue to push the field forward in the areas discussed at the summit?
Dr. Muthusamy: The AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology is eager to continue the momentum in each of these areas throughout the upcoming year. We plan to create “white papers” on key areas of emerging technology such novel bariatric therapies, resection techniques and innovation in endoscope reprocessing. We are also committed to engaging physician innovators working in these areas, as well as educating AGA’s membership on innovation in these evolving areas of GI innovation.
What is your outlook on innovation following the Tech Summit?
Dr. Muthusamy: Innovation continues to be alive and well in the GI space. There is no shortage of novel ideas or potentially disruptive technologies. Our aim is to provide a home for innovators to get critical advice regarding the early stages of innovation and facilitate collaboration among industry to achieve common goals and to expedite and facilitate bringing useful new technologies to the marketplace to benefit our patients.
Dr. Komanduri: The AGA Tech Summit was invigorating and allowed us to visualize a path to facilitate and improve innovation in the GI space. An intimate relationship between physicians, innovators, and industry is critical to move the pendulum forward and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
What else is on the AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology’s agenda?
Dr. Komanduri: The center will move forward with the progress from the Tech Summit and create disease- and content-specific task forces that will provide continuity in the areas discussed at the summit with distinct but achievable milestones over the next year.
Dr. Muthusamy: In addition, we aim to expand the consulting services offered during the innovator package session at the Tech Summit so that innovators can utilize these services year-round. It’s also never too early to start planning for our 10th Tech Summit, which will return to where it all began, the San Francisco Bay area! If you are a physician innovator in GI, we want to meet you. Send us an email at cgit@gastro.org.
V. Raman Muthusamy, MD, AGAF, FACG, FASGE, Chair, AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology; Clinical Professor of Medicine, Director of Endoscopy, University of California, Los Angeles
Sri Komanduri, MD, AGAF, Vice-Chair, AGA Center for GI Innovation and Technology; Associate Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology & Hepatology) and Surgery (Gastrointestinal), Northwestern University, Chicago, IL