About us
Fluid Biomed is a medical device start-up founded by two neurosurgeons, Dr. John Wong and Dr. Alim Mitha, at the University of Calgary who have developed a polymer-based stent that can heal a blood vessel by diverting blood flow away from a weak brain aneurysm. Working together for the past two decades to help people with stroke, their drive and commitment to improve patient health sparked a vision to create a radical new stent to cure a wide variety of aneurysms with greater efficiency and safety.
Guided by their clinical experience in the operating room towards a goal of minimizing side effects and complications, years of research and development in Dr. Mitha’s biomedical engineering laboratory has made the concept a reality. The company has transitioned the stent from proof of concept towards final prototyping and validation of their unique technology.
With the support of its partners, Fluid Biomed is achieving significant scientific, regulatory, and financing milestones along the pathway of product development. Fluid Biomed is well positioned to disrupt the stent market, and ultimately improve the quality of life and well-being of patients everywhere.
President, Chief Technology Officer, Co-founder
Dr. Alim P. Mitha is an associate professor at the University of Calgary. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and after graduating from medical school at the University of Alberta, completed his residency training in Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary. During that time, he also completed a Masters of Science degree with a focus on Biomedical Engineering at Harvard University and a research fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Thereafter, he completed an additional two years of clinical subspecialty training at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Spetzler. Since 2011, he has been practicing as a Cerebrovascular, Endovascular, and Skull Base Neurosurgeon at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. He is the scientific leader of a research laboratory at the University of Calgary affiliated with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Libin Cardiovascular Institute, that focuses on biomedical device development.
CEO and Co-founder
Dr. John H. Wong is an associate professor in the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Radiology at the Cumming School of Medicine. He serves as Director of Cerebrovascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery and maintains a busy clinical practice almost exclusively dedicated to treating brain aneurysms and stroke. Dr. Wong received his medical education and neurosurgical training at the University of Alberta. After a one-year fellowship in neurovascular surgery at Yale University and further two-year specialization in interventional neuroradiology in New York City, he was recruited to Calgary in 2001. Since then, he has helped develop one of the most collaborative and productive neurovascular and stroke units in North America with colleagues in neurology, radiology, and neurosurgery.
Dr. Wong has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts and has served on several grant review panels including for the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. He has held numerous local and national leadership roles including the provincial past president of the Alberta Neurosurgical Society for over a decade, previous Division Head of Neurosurgery at the University of Calgary, and is the current President of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society. Dr. Wong received his MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a double major in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation and was conferred the Dean’s Leadership Award.
Dedicated to the mission of developing the next generation of stents
The 20+ staff at Fluid Biomed is a multidisciplinary team composed of clinicians, scientists, engineers, and business professionals united by the goal of advancing neurovascular treatment. Led by neurosurgeon co-founders, the team integrates deep clinical insight with technical innovation to develop cutting-edge, bioresorbable stent technology. Biomedical, mechanical, and materials engineers drive product design and development, while the preclinical research team validates safety and performance through rigorous laboratory studies. Supporting this innovation are specialists in quality assurance and regulatory compliance, ensuring adherence to international medical device standards. Business and operations leaders manage strategic planning and day-to-day logistics, enabling the company to scale and deliver its solutions effectively. Together, Fluid Biomed’s staff reflects a collaborative and mission-driven approach to improving outcomes for patients with brain aneurysms.
Entrepreneur
Dr. Hunter’s career has revolved around examining ways to make implantable medical devices “bioactive” and “smarter” leveraging technologies borrowed from other industries such as pharmaceutical coatings, surface modification and sensor technologies. As an inventor with over 200 patents and patent applications to his name, he has been involved in the invention and development of the TAXUS® Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent, the Zilver PTX Peripheral Drug-Eluting Stent, and the Quill barbed wound closure device; combined these products have been used in over 40 million patients and recorded revenues exceeding $25 billion.
Previously, Dr. Hunter co-founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (1992-2011). After founding the company while a medical student in 1992, he grew the company to become a profitable and diversified device company with over 1,400 employees, several thousand commercially available products, and 12 facilities in 5 countries. His latest venture, Canary Medical, utilizes implanted sensor, battery and transmission technology to create “smart” implanted medical devices that can “self-report” on function, activity, wear, complications and patient outcomes for up to 20 years.
Professor, Neurosurgeon, and Interventional Neuroradiologist
Dr. Vitor Mendes Pereira is a neurosurgeon and interventional neuroradiologist specialized in minimally invasive procedures of the intracranial and spinal circulation and percutaneous spinal interventions for pain management.
Dr. Pereira is a Professor of Medical Imaging and Surgery at the University of Toronto, and Director of Endovascular Research and Innovation at St. Michael's Hospital. He did his residency in Sao Paulo, Brazil and his clinical fellowship in France (CHU Bicetre and Rothschild Foundation). Dr Pereira has worked as the Head of Interventional Neuroradiology division and Privat-Docent at the University Hospital of Geneva, Switzerland from 2008 to 2014. As a pioneer in the use of novel medical devices, he also leads a laboratory well-versed in the scientific evaluation of stents and endovascular technologies.
Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs Expert
Austin Griggs is a seasoned medical device leader with over a decade of broad experience in operations, quality, and regulatory approval of Class II and Class III devices. With a specific focus on new devices for patients with limited existing treatment options, Austin has worked collaboratively with regulatory bodies around the world to ensure adequate safety data supports the use of these novel treatments.
Austin is past Director of Quality at Edwards Lifesciences, a global leader in patient-focused innovations for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring. He is currently Head of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs (Americas Region) at Align Technology where he leads a team of >1200 dispersed over 7 locations in North America. He earned a Master of Science degree in Biomedical and Translational Science from the University of California, Irvine, and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Technology Lawyer and Investor
Ron Fernando is a technology lawyer and experienced angel investor based in Silicon Valley. With respect to industry verticals, his current interests include consumer brands, B2B SaaS, fintech, cyber security, medical devices, and sparse computing. For many of the companies that he invests in, Ron has helped them define market opportunities, refine pitch materials for raising venture capital, and better understand and negotiate with professional services vendors to conserve capital and reduce costs.
PROFESSOR & INTERVENTIONAL NEURORADIOLOGIST
Mayank Goyal, MD PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary and the Director of Imaging and Endovascular treatment at the Calgary Stroke Program, one of the world’s most renowned stroke programs. Dr. Goyal’s passion and main research interest is acute stroke imaging, workflow and intervention. With 285 peer-review manuscripts (including NEJM, Lancet Neurology, Radiology, Circulation, ANJR, Stroke), >35 editorials and opinion pieces, over 300 abstracts and >200 invite lectureships, Mayank has been an integral contributor in furthering the field of Stroke intervention research. He was one of the Principal Investigators in two global multi-centric trials in the field: ESCAPE and SWIFT PRIME (both published in NEJM). A citation index of 39177, an h-index of 73 and an i10 index of 380 (Google scholar, Jan 2021) are testimony to Dr. Goyal’s vast contribution and influence in the world of Stroke research. Bestowed with several honours and awards including the Outstanding Contributions in Research Award (American Society of Neuroradiology, 2020), and the Lifetime Contribution Award (Canadian Association of Radiology, 2018), Mayank continues to weave and expand the worldwide teaching network in the fields of Stroke imaging and intervention.
CLINICAL TRIALIST AND INTERVENTIONAL STROKE NEUROLOGIST
Dr. Mohammed Almekhlafi is a neurologist and a clinician scientist at the Calgary Stroke Program. In addition to his training in stroke and interventional neuroradiology, he holds a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology. Throughout his career, Dr. Almekhlafi has been driven by a passion for finding innovative solutions to the challenges faced by patients with cerebrovascular disorders. He is also actively involved in teaching and mentoring the next generation of neurologists and stroke researchers. He has published numerous papers in top-tier medical journals and presented his work at conferences worldwide.
INTERVENTIONAL NEURORADIOLOGIST
Dr. Muneer Eesa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary. He specializes in the imaging diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment of vascular disorders of the brain and spinal cord. Dr. Eesa completed his radiology residency from New Delhi, India in 2007 before pursuing fellowship training in Diagnostic Neuroradiology (Calgary), Vascular and Interventional Radiology (NYU) as well as Interventional Neuroradiology (Columbia). Dr. Eesa is part of the Neurovascular and Stroke Programs at the University of Calgary. He has a special interest in advanced imaging techniques for neurovascular disorders. Dr. Eesa has collaborated extensively with research in Stroke and Neurovascular diseases at the University of Calgary and is a published author with numerous research papers in highly regarded academic journals in the Neurovascular space.
MEDICAL DEVICE EXECUTIVE AND SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
Michael is a medical device executive, serial entrepreneur, inventor, and part-time venture capitalist. With a passion for commercializing disruptive technologies for the benefit of patients, he has co-founded 5 companies and achieved 4 successful exits to date. In 2021, Michael sold Devoro Medical to Boston Scientific. He holds BSME and MSME degrees from the University of Delaware and UC Davis, and is the inventor or co-inventor of over 300 patents. Before founding medical device companies, Michael held senior roles in Technical and Operational leadership at large medical device companies and startups in Silicon Valley. He spent 10 years at Target Therapeutics/Boston Scientific developing endovascular brain aneurysm solutions. He then worked for 12 years at 3 successful medical device startups in executive R&D and Operational roles: BARRX Medical, Baxano Inc, and Silk Road Medical. Michael's first two companies, TW Medical and 880 Medical, were sold to Stryker's Neuro Vascular division in 2015 and 2017 respectively. He also co-founded CardioProlific, which sold to Philips Medical in 2018. Currently, Michael runs his incubator 880 Medical, co-founded Early Bird Medical, serves as a part-time Venture Partner at ShangBay Medical, and is a board member or advisor for select startups.
Interventional Neuroradiologist and Scientist
Ajay K. Wakhloo, MD PhD, is an internationally renowned Professor of Radiology, Neurology and Neurosurgery and has held positions as the Director as the Division Neuroimaging and Intervention in the Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and tenured Professor of Radiology, Neurological Surgery and Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Radiology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Mainz, Germany, where he also received a Ph.D. in Endocrinology and Metabolic Disorders. Dr. Wakhloo completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at the City Hospital of Wiesbaden, Medical School, University of Mainz, and continued his training in Radiology at the City Hospital of Wiesbaden as well as the University of Freiburg, Germany. He conducted Fellowships in Neurosurgery (University of Freiburg) and Endovascular Surgery (SUNY-Buffalo), as well as Research Fellowships in Neurological Surgery (Barrow Neurological Institute) and in Neurosurgery (SUNY-Buffalo). Dr. Wakhloo has been the recipient of numerous scientific and clinical awards and honors. His primary areas of focus include acute stroke therapy, isolation of intracranial aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. He has made pioneering contributions to the development of flow-diverting stents and various endovascular procedures which are now established treatments. Dr. Wakhloo has secured significant research funds from private and federal sources as a principal and co-investigator of large grants. He has served on numerous Editorial Boards and is a reviewer for more than 15 medical journals, and has served in wide capacity on several national and international professional societies. Dr. Wakhloo holds multiple patents for vascular and neurovascular devices, and has over 500 publications, presentations and abstracts (including 2 books and approximately 200 peer reviewed articles and chapters).
Co-founder, President and CTO, Fluid Biomed
Co-founder and CEO, Fluid Biomed
Co-Founder and Partner, Amplitude Ventures
Venture Partner, ShangBay Capital
