Health Tech: Jessica Coughlin On How Stratasys’ Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness

An Interview With Dave Philistin

Draw Inspiration From Your Personal Life — Take note of what’s going on in your personal life, and where you may see opportunities for advancement. Throughout my father’s medical journey, I was able to see from my dad’s experience areas in which these devices could be refined to help improve the quality of life for the patients living with them.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Coughlin.

As the Head of Healthcare Market Access for Stratasys, the industrial 3D printer manufacturer, Jessica Coughlin is responsible for driving technology acceptability and widespread adoption of 3D printing to help improve patient outcomes. She works closely with physicians, biomedical engineers and other healthcare 3D printing advocates to understand and define requirements for current and prospective healthcare applications. As a seasoned professional with more than 15 years of healthcare experience, Jessica is known for driving life-saving therapies to standard of care. Jessica received her MBA in Marketing/Marketing Management from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

I grew up on a chicken farm in a small town about 45 minutes west of the Twin Cities called Silver Lake. I went to school in Minnesota and moved to Minneapolis, which is where I’ve been ever since.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I got into healthcare at the age of 16 when I began working as a nursing assistant for a long-term care facility. From then on, I knew I wanted to work in a field where I could help people improve their health and extend their life as much as possible.

Since then, I’ve worked for several healthcare companies. At one, we were developing technologies to assist with treating heart failure, including Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) and a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD). During this time, my father happened to be diagnosed with heart failure and ended up needing both products. This situation drove home the incredible impact and ability of technology to improve the quality of our lives in a very personal way.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My dad has helped me get to where I am today. As mentioned, by being at his side during his medical journey, it motivated me to work for organizations truly dedicated to advancing healthcare and improving patient outcomes. Throughout my father’s treatment, I could see firsthand how the latest advancements in healthcare were literally saving his life. I continue to strive to assist in the development of healthcare technology and tools in the hope that they will save other people’s lives in the future.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“How you do anything, is how you do everything” is a quote that really sticks with me (from Jess Sims, one of my favorite Peloton instructors). To be the best professionally and in other areas of your life, you cannot cut corners. This quote motivates me and gives me a little extra push when I need it.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Humility — Being humble is something that my dad has always reminded me of. No matter who you’re speaking to, everyone contributes in one way or another. Staying humble and treating everyone the same has kept me grounded throughout my life.

Perseverance — One thing that will always remain constant is change. I’ve been through multiple reorganizations and have had to adapt and adjust to each of them. Reorganizations can actually be a good thing because it’s a signal that changes are being made to make things better.

Staying Light-Hearted — I always want to be able to have fun with my colleagues and friends. Telling jokes, keeping things light-hearted is hugely important for building and maintaining relationships.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. To begin, which particular problems are you aiming to solve?

The majority of modern healthcare is generalized, and not geared towards providing personalized care for each individual patient. The lack of personalization in healthcare can impact clinical outcomes, as patients are not receiving the best care that is tailored to their personal medical needs. Stratasys’ 3D printing solutions assist in creating a healthcare experience that is customizable to the patients’ medical condition to deliver presurgical planning tools.

Along with this, as the world continues to shift and navigate a global pandemic, remote work has become the norm, but for medical professionals and students alike, hands-on experience is vital to learning and continuing their education. Through 3D printed models, Stratasys gives both students and healthcare professionals the opportunity to work remotely while providing necessary hands-on learning and training.

How do you think your technology can address this?

Stratasys is continually working to create products that will assist in positively impacting the healthcare process for both medical professionals and patients. Stratasys’ 3D printers and materials have the ability to create products that are more personalized for both patients’ and healthcare professionals’ needs. Stratasys printers create life-like anatomic models that can reflect an individual patient’s pathology and be physically manipulated like human tissue and bone.

Moreover, in 2021, Stratasys partnered with the multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh USA Inc. to provide point-of-care 3D printed anatomic modeling services to healthcare facilities. Ricoh 3D for Healthcare utilizes Stratasys 3D printing technology as part of its solution to give more medical providers and hospitals access to 3D printed, patient-specific anatomic models. The solution increases medical facility access to 3D printed medical models to help clinicians see inside anatomy for greater visibility into patient needs, and reduces barriers to entry that healthcare providers encounter when standing up a 3D printing facility.

Last but not least, Stratasys recently announced the launch of our Digital Anatomy Creator software, which is designed to allow surgeons to easily & precisely create exact duplicates of each patient’s unique anatomical features to better prepare ahead of an operation. Additionally, Stratasys released the J5 MediJet which was specifically designed for hospitals looking to get started with 3D printing for presurgical planning. The printer has a smaller footprint that can fit in smaller hospital spaces and is easier to operate for new users of 3D printing technology. Long story short, this will lead to significantly better patient outcomes.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

One major source of inspiration and passion for this cause came from the recent birth of my daughter and seeing all of the work that children’s hospitals do up-close and personal. As a mom, I’d want to know that a physician has every tool to deliver the best care possible. For example, when it comes to 3D printing in healthcare, surgeons can print out a model of the baby’s heart that needs to be operated on to better understand the anatomy and the surgical approach they need to take. This type of technology not only helps physicians better prepare, but it also allows parents to have a clearer understanding of the surgical procedure which gives them more confidence in an already stressful situation.

How do you think this might change the world?

3D printing might change the world of healthcare through the ability to deliver personalized care for every single patient. Each person’s condition is not cookie-cutter, but rather completely unique, which means physicians need to take a personalized approach every time, and have the right tools to do so. Being able to create tools that match the exact anatomy of the patient is going to get us one step closer to delivering universal, first-class care.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

It’s just important to maintain an ongoing conversation with regulators so that all parties are aware of the incredible progress being made in the field of 3D printing for healthcare. This way, any questions or concerns can be addressed very early on, and all parties are well-informed.

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? Please share a story or an example, for each.

Outcome Data — It’s incredibly important to be able to test and get data for the medical devices & solutions to prove why the adoption of a new technology is important. If there is clinical data showcasing that this device or technology works and improves the health/wellness of patients, this will influence the likelihood of this technology being utilized in medical facilities by patients and physicians.

Personalization — The more personalized the medical device and/or technology, the more effective it will be, as each patient’s conditions and anatomies are unique.

No Idea Is Too Far-Fetched — The most innovative ideas stem from the brainstorming process. While certain suggestions may sometimes seem improbable or unrealistic, they’re important for the ideation process, and oftentimes are when great thinking transpires.

Draw Inspiration From Your Personal Life — Take note of what’s going on in your personal life, and where you may see opportunities for advancement. Throughout my father’s medical journey, I was able to see from my dad’s experience areas in which these devices could be refined to help improve the quality of life for the patients living with them.

The Road Isn’t Always Going to Be Smooth — There will be many bumps and changes throughout your personal and professional journeys, but as long as you keep plugging away at what you believe in, it will work out in the end.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

When you look back on your legacy, what do you want to leave behind? Especially now, as we are all living in tough times physically and mentally, you want to be able to look back and know you made a positive difference in the world.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Michelle Obama because she was a huge advocate for health and wellness when she was the First Lady. From pushing for school lunches to be more nutritious, to her emphasis on leading healthy lives from not only a physical standpoint, but mentally as well, Mrs. Obama has been an inspiration.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

All of Stratasys’ phenomenal work in the field of healthcare can be found here: https://www.stratasys.com/medical

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.