In this episode of AbbottTalks, hosts Tom Salemi and Kayleen Brown sit down with Dr. Finn Gustafsson, Chief Medical Officer for Abbott’s Heart Failure business, to discuss how Abbott’s technologies are transforming care across every stage of heart failure. Dr. Gustafsson—who spent decades in academic medicine before joining Abbott—explains how the company’s CentriMag™ System, HeartMate 3™ LVAD, and CardioMEMS™ HF System stabilize, sustain, and empower patients in each phase of the condition. The...
Oct 27, 2025•51 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Hosts Tom Salemi and Kayleen Brown sit down with Santosh Prabhu, PhD, Divisional Vice President of Product Development for Abbott’s Structural Heart business, to discuss the company’s expanding portfolio and its impact on patients. Prabhu outlines Abbott’s transcatheter solutions, including MitraClip, TriClip, and Navitor, and shares updates on next-generation mitral and tricuspid valve replacement programs. He highlights how imaging advancements, new materials, a...
Sep 16, 2025•35 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Hosts Tom Salemi and Kayleen Brown sit down with Ethan Korngold, MD, Divisional Vice President, Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of Abbott’s Vascular business, to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping decision-making in the cath lab and beyond. Dr. Korngold, an interventional cardiologist turned MedTech leader, discusses the evolution of Abbott’s vascular portfolio and how the company is integrating AI through platforms like Ultreon 2.0 to impr...
Aug 19, 2025•39 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this episode of AbbottTalks, we dive into the surprising origins of neuromodulation, kicking off with a shocker (literally)—treating headaches with electric fish. Neuromodulation expert Yagna Pathak, PhD, Medical Science Manager of Medical Affairs at Abbott’s Neuromodulation business, explains how therapies like spinal cord and deep brain stimulation have evolved, detailing their impact on chronic pain and movement disorders. She outlines how Abbott is expanding neuromodulation applications t...
Jun 03, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 2
AbbottTalks launches Season 3 with a fresh new video presence, a new co-host, and several new powerful conversations from Abbott's senior leaders. Host Tom Salemi and new co-host Kayleen Brown welcome Vish Charan, divisional vice president of product development for Abbott's Cardiac Rhythm Management, to explore the engineering evolution of the pacemaker—and where it’s headed next. Charan reflects on the remarkable transformation of pacemakers from large, wired implants to compact, leadless syst...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Kartik Sundareswaran, PhD, divisional VP, global clinical and regulatory affairs, Abbott Heart Failure, discusses Abbott’s pioneering work in heart failure care, focusing on technologies that improve outcomes and empower earlier interventions. Sundareswaran’s path to MedTech began with a shift from computer engineering to biomedical research, where his early work studying blood flow patterns in children with congenital heart disease sparked a passion for solving c...
Dec 17, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Sandra Lesenfants, SVP of Abbott’s structural heart business, discusses the latest advancements in structural heart care, focusing on Abbott's transformative TriClip device for tricuspid regurgitation. Lesenfants highlights Abbott’s commitment to patient-centered innovation, emphasizing the importance of creating solutions that meet patients’ needs through safe and effective technologies. She also shares Abbott’s approach to expanding access to minimally invasive ...
Oct 22, 2024•34 min•Season 2Ep. 6
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Jennifer Jones-McMeans, PhD, Divisional VP of Global Clinical Affairs at Abbott and Brian DeRubertis, MD, Chief, Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical Center tackle the complexities of treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD) below the knee, particularly chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), a severe form of PAD that drastically impacts patients' quality of life and longevity. In the episode, the two discuss Abbott's Esprit...
Sep 17, 2024•48 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Matthew Fishler, PhD, Chief Engineer & Senior Director, Product Development, Cardiac Rhythm Management at Abbott Cardiovascular, shares his experience helping to develop the revolutionary dual-chamber leadless pacemaker system, taking us through the significant challenges and triumphs of creating a device that ensures precise coordination between the heart’s atrial and ventricular chambers without traditional leads. Fishler recounts the meticulous development ...
Jul 23, 2024•42 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode of AbbottTalks, Mahmood Kazemi, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Abbott’s Diabetes Care business overviews the profound advancements in diabetes management over the past decade and discusses the evolution of treatments and technological innovations that have revolutionized how individuals with diabetes approach their condition. Further, Dr. Kazemi underscores the benefits of advancements such as the GLP-1 receptor agonists and medications that control glucose levels and offer cardiov...
Apr 30, 2024•43 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In the latest episode of AbbottTalks, Abbott Cardiovascular's leaders, Christopher Piorkowski, MD, DVP and Chief Medical Officer of Electrophysiology, and Dan Kaiser, Divisional VP Product Development, Electrophysiology, delve into the vast landscape of electrophysiology and the comprehensive approach Abbott is taking towards atrial fibrillation (AFib) treatment. The conversation highlights a potentially innovative pulsed field ablation (PFA) technology and Abbott's broader AFib portfolio, showc...
Mar 12, 2024•44 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this special episode of AbbottTalks, recorded live from DeviceTalks West in October 2023, we celebrate a pivotal moment in medical innovation: the 20th anniversary of Abbott's MitraClip™, a revolutionary device introduced in 2003. In the episode, the inventor of the MitraClip, Frederick St. Goar, MD, Interventional Cardiologist, El Camino Health, and Abbott's Santosh Prabhu, PhD, Divisional VP, Global Product Development, discuss the journey of the MitraClip, reflecting on its inception, evol...
Jan 12, 2024•51 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this special episode of AbbottTalks, recorded live from DeviceTalks West, Julie Tyler, president of Abbott's Vascular business, discusses the company's strategic evolution and commitment to comprehensive patient care, including a new technology, the Esprit BTK, intended to be released next year. Additionally, Tyler provides an insider's perspective on Abbott's integration of Cardiovascular Systems Inc., revealing how this move enhances Abbott's portfolio and positions the company at the foref...
Oct 31, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In the newest episode of AbbottTalks, Ryan Lakin, Divisional Vice President of Digital Solutions, Medical Devices at Abbott, delves deep into the transformative role of digital health solutions in the medical device landscape and emphasizes Abbott's commitment to not just treating the sick but also empowering individuals to maintain optimal health. Lakin shares insights into how Abbott's innovative technologies, like the FreeStyle Libre 2 glucose monitoring system and Lingo, are reshaping patien...
Sep 27, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In the newest episode of AbbottTalks, Vish Charan, divisional VP of product development at Abbott, takes us through the inner workings of the recently FDA-approved AVEIR™ DR Dual Chamber Leadless Pacemaker System, from its inception to its successful clinical trial and FDA approval. Charan also dives deep into the technology, revealing the cutting-edge i2i communication technology that powers AVEIR™ pacemakers, enabling seamless communication between devices for dual chamber pacing and AV synchr...
Aug 23, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In the newest episode of AbbottTalks, Allen Burton, Divisional VP and Chief Medical Officer of Neuromodulation at Abbott, shares insights into the company's innovative neuromodulation therapies. Burton delves into Abbott's FDA-approved treatment for chronic back pain, which uses electrical stimulation to alleviate pain, improve functionality, and reduce reliance on opioids. Burton discusses Abbott’s recent FDA approval to treat people who suffer from back pain with limited surgical options. He a...
Jul 25, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 2
In the opening episode of the DeviceTalks podcast network's newest podcast, AbbottTalks, Dr. Christopher Piorkowski, Divisional VP and Chief Medical Officer of Electrophysiology, and Dr. Philip Adamson, Divisional VP and Chief Medical Officer of Heart Failure, discuss the significant advancements in Abbott's cardiac technology and their forward-looking approach to cardiovascular care. Piorkowski sheds light on the profound impact of technology on patient outcomes in AFib treatment and underscore...
Jun 16, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 1
