Jim Karkanias
San Francisco, California, United States
3K followers
500+ connections
About
Seasoned executive management of many types of companies ranging from start-up to…
Activity
3K followers
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisJim Karkanias liked thisWho is actually in charge: humans? AI? Both? Who should be in charge? Leaders are finding it harder to tell. A new paper offers a practical way to categorize the various possibilities, and identify them. It presents a spectrum of five human-AI relationship types: - Pure Human: Only people should be in charge. Bringing AI in would reduce quality, safety, or legitimacy. - Centaur: Humans lead, with AI actively in the loop providing support, analysis and options. - Co-equal: Genuine sharing, with neither side reduced to support for the other. - Minotaur: AI drives the core logic and decisions, with humans in a supportive or oversight role. - Pure AI: Only AI. Human involvement would make the outcome worse. Three questions now become crucial when making any major decision: Who actually framed the problem we are solving? Who changed our direction when new information arrived? If this went wrong tomorrow, who could explain why we chose this path? If those three answers point to different places, you are probably in misrecognition territory. Full paper (arXiv): https://lnkd.in/gRZ4FdcV Plain language version (English): https://lnkd.in/g9RtApzc Versión divulgativa (Español): https://lnkd.in/g6Fdnxay Zayna Khayat, Ph.D. Helen Angus Barney Pell James Landay Benjamin Bratton Hector Zenil Cheryl Cheng Maria Clara Mesa Abad Parisa "Risa" Vatanka, PharmD Pilar Manchón PhD. Joseph Geraci Tabitha Chiu Matthew Berman Steve Brown Anand Mahurkar AMS Healthcare Joe Bradley Mariam Amanullah, MBA, MPH Bruce Constantine
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisJim Karkanias liked thisThe 10 Commandments of Digital Medtech Every year or so, we uncover a new principle about our business - a truism that shapes how we think about Canary’s beliefs, culture, and direction. It’s humbling how long it takes to truly understand a business, and how rare real insights are. I’ve started writing these down on a whiteboard in my office. Some fade. Some get erased. The ones that matter stay for years. Here are 10 things we believe to be true about digital health in medtech. Some may resonate, others not - maybe one will spark an idea. 1. Sensor-enabled “Smart” Connected Devices The era of metal and plastics is over. The real value now lies in devices that sense, connect, and continuously generate meaningful data streams. 2. Patients Own the Data Not Canary. Trust is foundational—patients must own and control their data, or the system ultimately fails to scale. 3. Medical-grade (not consumer-grade) data FDA approved, diagnostic, actionable, reimbursable. Data must meet the highest clinical standards to influence care decisions and unlock real economic value. 4. CHIRP – Component design (power/sensor/transmission) Cartridge design for insertion into existing hardware; scalable, device agnostic. Component level innovation enables scalable deployment across platforms without redesigning entire systems. 5. Measure Better, Monitor Better, Manage Better Everything starts with accurate measurement. If you improve what you measure, you elevate monitoring - and enable better clinical management. 6. FDA “Breakthrough” whenever possible NTAP, TPT → Early Reimbursement (Device & Data) Regulatory strategy leveraged to accelerate adoption, enabling earlier access, reimbursement, and impact. 7. Long-term Data Value Exceeds Short-term Device Value Price devices to promote data growth. Enterprise growth comes from compounding the data layer; devices should be positioned to maximize adoption and data generation. 8. Clinical Value and Financial Value have Different Data “Loops” Different Businesses: Clinician Use (Efficacy) and Payer Purchase (Savings) require Separate/Unique Data Products, Workflows, and Ecosystems. Success requires designing for both - because proving outcomes and proving savings are fundamentally different problems. 9. Share the Wealth and the Knowledge Create Reimbursement for Doctors and Savings for Payers/Providers. Make data Freely available for Scientific Inquiry (Canary Scholars Program). Sustainable ecosystems reward all stakeholders - and open data accelerates discovery and trust. 10. Personalized, Accurate, Continuous Data Collection for Patient Triage Prediction before Diagnosis. Prevention before Treatment. Person before Population. The future of care is proactive and individualized, driven by continuous insight rather than episodic intervention. Would love to hear the principles you’ve discovered to be true - feel free to share your learnings.
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisJim Karkanias liked thisBetter surgery won’t fix the cost problem in joint replacement. Orthopaedic surgeons have become very good at improving surgical outcomes. Implant design, robotics, alignment, and surgical technique are constantly being questioned, evaluated, and upgraded. Complications like infection or stiffness are measured, tracked, and protocols continuously refined. This is the TJA efficacy loop and it matters. But financially, it is not where most of the cost lives. The economic reality is not hidden in ASCs, robotics, or surgical technique. Two year post-operative care costs are roughly 2x the cost of the surgery itself. And while orthopaedic complications are serious, they represent less than 10% of postoperative costs. The majority of care costs come from emergency visits, readmissions, and complications driven by comorbidities (CHF, COPD, CRD, diabetes, obesity). Together, these account for more than 30% of total post-surgical costs - not to mention increased utilization of diagnostic imaging (16%), homecare (18%), skilled nursing (13%), and rehab services (11%). These are not orthopaedic problems, but they are orthopaedic patient problems. The current paradigm optimizes orthopaedic risk, while under-managing economic risk. The efficacy loop, shown on the left, is focused on joint performance. It is surgeon-driven, procedure-centric, functional, and essential - but economically limited. The economic loop, on the right, is systemic, multivariate, and focused on global patient health and recovery. It is often managed as an outpatient by primary care (or internal medicine) who may not even be aware their patient is post-surgical. It is also where the majority of cost resides. Historically, these loops have been disconnected. Practically, they must be targeted and optimized separately because they are managed by different clinicians. However, success depends on coordinating these loops. When joint recovery is measured as a trajectory - ROM, cadence, stride length - we can detect functional deviation and implement early correction (PT, exercise, surgeon evaluation). When activity and recovery is measured continuously - step count, walking speed, stride length - and combined with comorbidity data, we can flag patients who may be struggling medically and direct them to their PCP/internist for follow up. It is not either/or - both arms of the care team receive data that can help evaluate whether an issue is orthopaedic or medical, and intervene before high-cost events occur. The same dynamic exists across most other surgical procedures - the intervention is the domain of the surgeon, and the comorbidities are managed by the PCP/internist. Monitoring alone isn’t enough, it also requires system design. Clinical - and by extension economic - success will be defined by an ability to connect these two loops into a single, coordinated model of care.
-
Jim Karkanias liked this(Aside from the obvious self promotion) - I follow all of these companies - and believe that handheld robotics, 3D-printing, and data-driven patient management are all major trends. They are also starting to coalesce around each other. This will be a trend to watch. As usual, LSI and Compass AI, by LSI have their finger on the emerging Medtech pulse.Jim Karkanias liked thisOrthopedics is being reset. The Ortho Market Dive at LSI USA ’26 explored what this means and data on the Ortho and Spine devices market, fundraising trends from 2025, 3D printing, smart implants, what the strategics are saying, exciting innovators to watch, and more. Compass AI Analyst Conclusions: 1. The shift to outpatient is reshaping strategy • Strategics are repositioning around ASCs, while building robotic ecosystems designed to drive long-term implant loyalty 2. Demographics are a powerful tailwind • Aging population → increased joint replacement volume • Younger, active patients → demand for longer-lasting, personalized solutions 3. Innovation is becoming more precise and more personalized • 3D-printed implants, biologic integration, and robotic guidance are redefining outcomes And keep an eye on THINK Surgical, restor3d, Canary Medical Inc., Wavegate Corporation… Full presentations, analysis, and underlying data are available inside Compass AI, but we’re sharing a brief deck for those interested in learning more. Reach out for the Ortho Market Dive deck. The session was led by Nicholas Talamantes and powered by Compass AI.
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisWhen Fortune highlights the most innovative technologies, it’s a signal that paradigms are shifting. Proud to see the Persona IQ Smart Knee featured among the innovations redefining healthcare. This is what happens when implants become intelligent, and recovery becomes measurable. Congratulations Zimmer Biomet on your recognition and to the Canary Medical Inc. and the Persona IQ teams for your role in making it happen. Cade Sullivan Bradley M. Kessler Daniel Forrest Evan Weinstock Hank Summitt, MBA Nathan Golemon Breanna C. Schmitt DPT, PT, OCS Jeff Gross John Savage Michael Raynor Fred Cushner Patrick Aubin Monica Kendrick Joseph Cucolo Karimah Es Sabar Brenda Irwin Brenda Eprile, FCPA, ICD.D Jim KarkaniasJim Karkanias liked thisZimmer Biomet is honored to be named to Fortune’s 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁! Innovation at Zimmer Biomet is a continuous cycle: listening, learning, building and delivering technologies that solve meaningful healthcare challenges. From smart implants and first‑to‑world infection‑mitigating technologies to next‑generation robotics, along with industry‑first awareness campaigns with Arnold Schwarzenegger that advance mobility and joint‑health education, Zimmer Biomet is transforming what’s possible in musculoskeletal care. This recognition belongs to our team members whose curiosity, courage and purpose fuel our mission to alleviate pain and improve quality of life for people around the world. Proud of what we’ve built — and even more excited for what’s next: https://lnkd.in/e3emnxVP #ProudToBeZB #BoldestAhead #FORTUNEsMostInnovative
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisThe sixth vital sign. Normal gait requires intact neurologic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and cardiac function. Changes in any one of them, causes changes in gait. One of the best indicators of health we have.Jim Karkanias liked thisYour walking speed is one of the strongest predictors of future dementia. Not your memory. Not your family history. How fast you walk. Gait speed has been called the "sixth vital sign" by geriatricians. And the research behind it is remarkably consistent. A meta-analysis of over 34,000 older adults found that slower gait speed was associated with a significantly higher risk of developing dementia, even after controlling for age, sex, and education. Why? Walking is not simple. It requires simultaneous coordination of: ↳ Motor planning (frontal lobe) ↳ Balance and spatial orientation (cerebellum, parietal lobe) ↳ Executive function (prefrontal cortex) ↳ Processing speed (white matter tracts) ↳ Sensory integration (visual, vestibular, proprioceptive) When any of these systems start to decline, gait changes first. Often years before cognitive symptoms become obvious. What the research shows: People who slow down by more than 0.1 meters per second per year have double the risk of developing dementia. Dual-task gait testing (walking while counting backwards or naming animals) is even more sensitive. If your walking speed drops significantly when you add a cognitive task, that's an early signal. I use this in my practice. When a patient comes in for memory concerns, one of the first things I do is watch them walk. Before any testing. Before any imaging. If their gait is normal, I'm less worried. If it's slow, unsteady, or asymmetric, I'm already forming a differential diagnosis. The clinical beauty of gait speed: It costs nothing to measure ↳ Requires no equipment ↳ Takes 30 seconds ↳ Is reproducible ↳ Predicts outcomes better than many expensive tests What you can do: If you're over 60, pay attention to your walking speed. Not just "can I walk" but "am I slowing down compared to last year?" If your loved ones are noticeably slower than they used to be, that's worth mentioning to their doctor. And the intervention that improves gait speed? Exercise. Specifically structured programs combining aerobic activity with balance and resistance training. The same intervention that protects your brain, protects your gait. Because it's the same system. 📌 Follow Reza Hosseini Ghomi, MD, MSE for clinical insights that are free and immediately useful ♻️ Repost if you learned something about walking you didn't know 💬 Have you noticed a parent or loved one slowing down? What did you do? Citations: Beauchet O, et al. Gait speed and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2016. Montero-Odasso et al. Association of dual-task gait with incident dementia in mild cognitive impairment. JAMA Neurology. 2017.
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisClinical medicine has always relied on both subjective and objective measures. Often, the history and the findings tell different parts of the story, and both are needed to arrive at the right conclusions. In orthopaedics, however, patient questionnaires were for many years the only quantifiable way to understand recovery after total knee arthroplasty. With Persona IQ, we can now add continuous objective data from inside the joint. When subjective and objective measures are combined, we can begin answering both new questions, and some old ones, about how patients recover after TKA.Jim Karkanias liked thisHave you seen this Persona IQ article yet? Learn more about pairing PROMs data with objective, post-operative data collected directly from a smart implant to monitor patient recovery.¹ https://lnkd.in/gTRWrfCJ #PersonaIQ #RemoteMonitoring
-
Jim Karkanias liked thisJim Karkanias liked thisToday’s announcement from Microsoft, based on technology invented by Microsoft Research, is poised to advance the way AI (and other) systems are built. The innovation uses simple LED chips to transmit data, instead of copper wires or fiber-optic (laser-based) communication. https://aka.ms/AA101ymw The commercialization of this invention will make our AI datacenters consume less energy, be more reliable, and open additional design options to make our systems much better. Microsoft decided to share this invention with the world and make it widely available, as lower energy consumption across the industry is good for all of us. Sending data along copper cables using electric pulses is standard because copper is cheap. As you increase data transmission rates, the copper wires must get shorter. That limitation has forced us to place AI and other chips ever closer together, creating a rapid increase in a rack’s power density, and making the challenges of cooling the rack much harder. That trend is unsustainable. The other alternative today is the use of lasers over fiber optic cables. Fiber optics can go long distances and transmit data at high bandwidth. The challenge with using them is that the laser-based transmitters are bulky, expensive, have relatively high failure rates, and consume much more power than copper. A Microsoft Research team in our Cambridge Lab had an out-of-the-box idea to address this problem in 2020: Use commercial LED chips (like we have in our cell phones) to transmit thousands of parallel streams of data at low power over low-cost medical imaging fiber. This breakthrough will allow the computing industry to transmit data with less power—at high bandwidth—than either copper or fiber optics, up to distances of tens of meters, at potentially higher reliability. The team solved many problems along the way, getting the LEDs to cycle at high speeds while remaining power efficient, finding a way to transmit those many streams of light reliably, coupling the light into the imaging fiber (since LEDs spread light in all directions), and keeping dispersion of the light sufficiently low that it can work over the target distances reliably. They formed a deep partnership with product engineers in Microsoft’s Azure Core, Azure Hardware, and M365 divisions and external partners (MediaTek and others). Together with their partners, they built a proof-of-concept solution that is plug-compatible with today’s datacenter cables. Microsoft Research teams are free to explore any ideas or fundamental research. When they produce a breakthrough, we have decades of experience getting new technology to world-wide scale. But it takes grit, and I’m proud of the perseverance of the team. Thanks to Ariel Gomez Diaz, Junyi Liu, Kai Shi, Kaoutar Benyahya, Marianna Pantouvaki, Shawn Yohanes Siew, Doug Kelly, Daniel Cletheroe ,Vassily Lyutsarev, Brian Robertson, Thomas Burridge, and Paolo Costa--and all of their collaborators--for their hard work.
-
Jim Karkanias reacted on thisJim Karkanias reacted on thisROUND 2: Last week, I had my next (and hopefully last!) surgery at UCSF following my double mastectomy, removing my temporary tissue expanders and swapping in for implants. Excited to be on the other side of this #BreastCancer journey ✨
Experience
-
cogitech.ai
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Education
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Recommendations received
-
LinkedIn User
138 people have recommended Jim
Join now to viewOther similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Aliza Apple
Thanks to Zahra Khwaja for this thoughtful conversation about TuneLab and how we're thinking about AI in drug discovery at Lilly. We dug into why we're opening up proprietary models we spent decades building, how federated learning can break down data silos while building trust, and the push toward AI that can autonomously orchestrate complex prediction workflows. At the core: we're drug hunters serving patients who are waiting. Every innovation has to deliver measurable impact toward getting better medicines to people faster. Great to explore these ideas with the Decoding Bio community: https://lnkd.in/gbsDFVjq
1 Comment -
Sam Sammane (AI Ethicist)
Honored to join today’s panel on Responsible AI Integration in Healthcare at the CXO Conference. I shared how grounding technology is transforming AI into systems that are trustworthy, explainable, and fully traceable—capable of providing clear citations and transparent reasoning. With trusted U.S. datasets and forward-thinking partners like Open Evidence, we’re moving toward a future where healthcare AI is safer, more reliable, and built for real-world impact. #CXO2Conf #ResponsibleAI #HealthcareAI #ExplainableAI #Innovation #DigitalHealth #AITransparency #Dubai
1 Comment -
TiE Silicon Valley
As the TiEcon 2025 conversation on AI in healthcare continues, Dr. Conrad M. Vial, Senior Vice President at Sutter Health, shares how predictive analytics, biobanking, and real-world data can help identify patients who may not benefit from standard treatments. He emphasizes the need to update formularies and redirect care using precision medicine. As Dr. Vial explains, “Not every patient fails treatment by choice — some just need a different path from the start.” Watch the full discussion to see how healthcare leaders are aligning technology with value-based care. #TiEcon2025 #HealthcareAI #PrecisionMedicine #ClinicalTrials #ValueBasedCare https://lnkd.in/eJxZfS2x Brian Silverstein, MD Deepa N. Neeta Mhatre Aparna Abburi Anita Manwani Anand Jagannathan Andy Tsao Preetha Ram Preethy Padmanabhan Krishna K. Chittabathini Uday Bellary Sandeep Bhat
-
Keith Martin
Everyone’s talking about AI, but most projects never deliver ROI. In the plasma industry, success hinges on domain expertise and the proper framework, not just algorithms. I shared some thoughts on this over on the StratOptix Consulting page. Check it out and follow us there for more insights on plasma operations and innovation with AI. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ejbC97bV #AI #PlasmaIndustry #HealthcareInnovation #StratOptix
-
Ankit Gupta
Microsoft AI released a model for making diagnoses and better yet released a new benchmark for evaluating them. The models are getting good, but the benchmark needs to better reflect real-world data. Here are thoughts on the work and opportunities ahead. https://lnkd.in/eJA_C2b5
12 Comments -
Tharun Reddy Kandukuri, PhD
Agentic AI: The Next Evolution of Large Language Models Looking ahead to the AI landscape of early 2026, Agentic AI is poised to become a major differentiator. We're moving beyond LLMs as simple reasoning tools toward truly autonomous agents that plan, execute, and adapt in real-world scenarios. Several key trends are emerging: Specialization is paramount, with fine-tuned agents outperforming generalized ones in fields like finance, medicine, and supply chain management. We're also seeing deep integration with robotics and IoT, enabling these agents to interact with the physical world. Trust, explainability, and edge computing are critical for real-world application, alongside robust security protocols addressing potential misuse. What metrics will define success in Agentic AI? Companies are likely tracking: 1. Task Completion Rate (TCR): Aiming for 90-95% success on assigned tasks without human intervention. 2. Average Cost Per Task (ACPT): Targeting a 40-60% reduction in cost compared to human labor. 3. Mean Time to Intervention (MTTI): Striving for 72 hours of autonomous operation in controlled environments and 24 hours in unpredictable settings. These advancements promise a future where AI agents revolutionize industries, but careful consideration of trust, security, and practical implementation will be key to unlocking their full potential. #AgenticAI #AI #LargeLanguageModels #ArtificialIntelligence #Robotics #IoT #Innovation #FutureofAI
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content