We’re featuring one of our shareowners from NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics™! Brandon is a Manufacturing Engineering Manager and has been working with NSO innovations since the very beginning. Read his full Q&A below:
Since your time with NSO and formerly Ellipse Technologies, what has been one of your favorite moments with the company?
Being a part of growing the company of Ellipse Technologies to treat patients in a truly unique manner was a great experience. When I first started at Ellipse, we were a company of approximately 20 employees with about half of our products having 510k clearance in the United States. Now as we’ve grown into NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics it is incredible to see the new products that we have been able to get to market and the increase of patients that we’ve been able to supply with innovative treatment. This feeling is really captured every time we get to meet some of our patients and their families. It is a great honor to have been part of team that supplied doctors with the technologies they needed to vastly improve patients’ lives.
Can you share one of the biggest challenges in developing the PRECICE® system?
The second generation of our limb lengthening platform, PRECICE 2, was quite a difficult project, not only from a design standpoint but also from a manufacturing standpoint. PRECICE 2 provided a significantly improved design as well as launched NSO into the mainstream orthopedics manufacturing world. With the introduction of PRECICE 2, we were also able to develop several in-house manufacturing processes that allowed us to quickly provide the field with the high-quality products they needed. This was crucial in the success of our second generation product.
What is your favorite part about Continuous Design?
I started working with PRECICE on the manufacturing floor where I assembled product. Having that experience, I know that no matter the size or scale of the improvements, it can make a world of difference for our teams that are assembling this world-class product every day. For that reason, I think it’s very important that we strive to continue increasing our manufacturing abilities and our speed so that the assembly team has all of the necessary tools to keep providing patients with world class product.
For engineers looking to enter the medical technology industry, what advice would you give them?
My only advice is to consider the great opportunity they have to improve patients and their families’ lives. With this opportunity also comes the absolute responsibility that work should always be to the highest standard. As an engineer in this field you should always feel confident that you have done your very best work in providing the best possible end product for the patient.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I would just like to share how much of a true honor it is to be able to meet the families and see the success stories of the patients that we have treated. At the end of the day you can’t put a price on seeing patients and their families smiling ear to ear, and to see how thankful they are for the help NSO has been able to provide. I know sometimes we can get caught up in our day-to-day challenges and successes, but the ultimate satisfaction comes from knowing patients have truly benefited and are grateful for the work of NSO.
We’re so glad to have inspiring and hardworking shareowners like Brandon. If you’re motivated by his story and have a desire to change patient lives every day, visit our careers page here.