 If you’ve spent any time in Orange County’s MedTech scene, you know it’s more than just a hub—it’s a legacy. Last week, I stepped away from the usual grind to attend an event focused on neurovascular innovation, and what I thought would be a forward-looking discussion turned into a fascinating walk down memory lane. Spoiler: it turns out that understanding how we got here is just as important as where we’re headed. Understanding the presentAccording to American author Richelle Mead, “History is important because it teaches us about the past. And by learning about the past, you come to understand the present, so that you may make educated decisions about the future.” I wonder if Mead was present last week in Orange County when we discussed how history is impacting our future. I recently snuck away from the office to attend an industry event covering the neurovascular technologies vertical within the medical device sector. If you’re reading this article, you likely already know what that is, so I’ll refrain from regaling you with the details of what ‘neurotech’ is. You’re welcome. The forum event, produced by Octane OC, featured all things neurotech. I was selfishly interested in the event, as our company does a lot of work in this sector; however, I was also curious to see if they would dive into ‘what’s coming’ for the industry vertical, which was indeed well-covered by a chap from BCG. Unexpectedly, it was the panel discussion on ‘Past, Present, Future: How Did Orange County Become a Hub for Neuro’ that really caught my interest. Here’s why it was impactful to me – if we don’t understand the past, or how we got to the present, we’re missing a big piece of the puzzle. The panel for this discussion, moderated by Brett Wall, EVP & President of Medtronic Neurosciences, was--simply put--top notch. It included Dr. Gary Duckwiler of UCLA Neurosurgery, along with industry executives George Wallace and Bob Rosenbluth. If you’re familiar with the industry, these names are synonymous with neurovascular.  Discussion ExcerptsInsights from Dr. DuckwilerBelow are excerpts of the panel discussion, along with some of my favorite points, as the panel artfully unveiled the history of neurotech in Orange County. If you’re interested in learning about the history of all medtech in southern California click HERE. The panel discussion started with Wall, the moderator, asking Dr. Gary Duckwiler to share how he got involved, as a physician, in the neurovascular therapies side of patient care. Rocking back to the glory days of the early 1980s… Dr. Duckwiler opened with a memory about treating aneurysms: “I was right on the cusp of the very start of exploring the brain and doing treatment for Chuck Kerber. He brought a block of polyvinyl alcohol foam, and then basically a rasp and would rub it until it got particles. And then he'd take a coffee filter and put that through the coffee filter, get the right size, and then inject that into a brain to block something off---just in case you're wondering, this actually happened. And people from the outside---and smart people, engineers---said there's got to be a better way.” Dr. Duckwiler continued to talk about his early career in neuro by recounting the power of great mentoring from heralded physicians like Dr. Grant Haishima, while at Harbor General Hospital, and Dr. Fernando Vinuela at UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Duckwiler then shared a funny story about how he got into the neurovascular business as a physician. “I was walking down the hallway after doing some barium enemas, and the angio room was there, and Dr. Grant Haishima always wore this headband, typical Japanese. And he was standing outside the room, smoking a cigarette. And that was OK, then. He encouraged me. And I said, 'Dr. Haishima, what's going on?' Haishima responded 'oh, it got a little tense in there'", referring to the gravity of the work associated with neurovascular surgery. Not sure if it was to get away from enemas, or to gravitate towards something more intense, Dr. Duckwiler decided to jump all in. Fast-forward, Dr. Gary Duckwiler would later become a physician key opinion leader (KOL) working with dozens of neurovascular start-ups and commercialized companies over decades, including MTI/ eV3 and Microvention. (Slide presented by George Wallace at Octane OC 2025)  Insights from George WallaceThe panel discussion then moved to George Wallace, who shared how many of the people in industry in the early 1990s came out of what is today Edwards Lifesciences, Shiley, American Hospital Supply, etc. George shared that he started MTI around 1993, and then detailed his history, including eV3, Covidien, and present-day Medtronic Neurovascular. This outfit would produce legacy stroke products such as pipeline, flow diverter and Onyx. George would eventually start another neuro company, MindFrame, focused on stent retrievers for clot removal. MindFrame was acquired by Covidien around 2012. The picture below showcases the product development story line, bringing about present-day Medtronic Neurovascular. (Slide presented by George Wallace at Octane OC 2025)  Insights from Bob RosenbluthThe conversation then flowed to Bob Rosenbluth’s history in MedTech, which includes a war chest of medals most of us today are all-too familiar with. Bob Rosenbluth's work has been almost entirely Orange County-base, while other professionals in the MedTech space will dance back and forth along the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles, and beyond. Bob's story is a modern day ‘Midas touch’, with incredible success at companies like Microvention, Sequent Medical, and Inari Medical. Bob "[worked] in a dialysis company in Minnesota after a short stint at Medtronic." After his boss "left to do a startup, [he] got a great training in a terrible business" that "would struggle to get 20% margins." "And it was cold there", he admitted. "I wanted to move back to Northern California, but the ventures community wasn't funding Medtech there." "Orange County, CA on the other hand, was a leader in oxygenators, heart valves, and tissue heart valves. And so I decided I'd come to Orange County. So, I took over the tissue valve program at Shiley. We had the first pericardial heart valve, which I thought was great---really a great valve. "I eventually decided I'm gonna be a VP of R&D at another company. I couldn't find a company that I really liked, that was doing stuff that I thought would be successful. So, I finally bit the bullet at the age of 40, and decided to go out and raise venture money and start a company. That was a urology company called ASI. We had hired this guy Rob Green. Rob took the challenge of developing hydrogel for this incontinence device. It was an external adhesive that worked really well. So we ultimately sold that company in two pieces, to Boston Scientific and J&J.” With his first start up successfully concluded Rosenbluth would lay the groundwork over the next 20+ years for several other major successes:
(Slide presented by Bob Rosenbluth at Octane OC 2025)  The core of this industry's success in SoCal:As the four panelists continued to talk through the history of Orange County’s neurovascular beginnings, one thing became crystal clear: this whole story of the industry and it’s rise to influence came as a result of one common thing---good people. While the neurotech ecosystem was still in its early stages back in the 1990s, there were (and still are) plenty of brilliant people whose business insight, development chops, creativity, and passion helped spark decades of innovation—shaping the companies we see leading the industry today. Today, the MedTech Industry in Orange County, California is represented by close to a dozen active medical device neurotech companies, employing more than 2,000 personnel. Some of these companies include:
Final ThoughtsOrange County didn’t become a neurotech powerhouse by accident. It was built by bold ideas, scrappy innovation, and a community of people who weren’t afraid to push boundaries. Listening to the stories shared by people who shaped the industry in this region was a reminder that the future of MedTech isn’t just written in strategy decks—it’s shaped by people who care deeply, think differently, and build relentlessly. Southern California Medical Device HistoryWant to dig deeper in the history of MedTech in Southern California, check out our resource! 
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