Preventing Dialysis Access Failure: How Auvi Labs is Building a Wearable Ultrasound Device | Rishab Veldur & Kevin Volkema

In this episode, I sit down with Rishab Veldur (CEO) and Kevin Volkema (COO) from Auvi Labs to discuss how they're tackling a critical problem in dialysis care. 40% of dialysis patients experience fistula or graft failure within their first year—leading to endless hospitalizations and life-threatening situations.

Auvi Labs is building "Beacon," a wearable ultrasound patch that patients can use for just 10 minutes a day to detect early signs of access failure. We dive deep into their journey from a university capstone project to launching clinical pilots, the challenges of building a healthcare startup, and their unique approach to networking and building clinical partnerships.

Whether you're a healthcare founder, engineer, or just interested in medtech innovation, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Introduction

• 01:00 – The Problem: Dialysis Access Failure

• 03:15 – From Acoustic Device to Wearable Ultrasound

• 10:06 – The 20-Patient Pilot Study

• 11:52 – How to Find Clinical Pilots

• 17:40 – Networking Playbook for Healthcare Founders

• 21:01 – The Power of a Founder Newsletter

• 23:45 – Business Model & Value-Based Care

• 29:19 – Biggest Risks & Clinical Integration Challenges

• 36:04 – Bottlenecks for Scaling

Key Takeaways

1 Start with the problem, not the solution – They pivoted from an acoustic device to ultrasound after learning what patients and physicians actually needed

2 Healthcare is relationship-based – Cold outreach has low success; invest in building genuine connections over time

3 Skip the big conferences early on – Niche events and reaching out to researchers on Google Scholar yields better results

4 Use your student email – Everyone wants to help students

5 Send a newsletter – Share highs AND lows to bring people along on your journey

6 Value-based care is the path – Working with kidney contracting entities can bypass traditional CPT code reimbursement

Guest Links

• 🌐 Website: auvilabs.com

• 💼 Rishab Veldur (CEO) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishab-veldur/

• 💼 Kevin Volkema (COO) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinvolkema/

Host

• 💼 Roupen Odabashian LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roupen-odabashian-md-frcpc-fasco-183aaa142/

• 📧 Email: roupen@deltahealth.tech

#healthcarestartup #medtech #dialysis #wearables #digitalhealth #medicaldevice #startup #healthcare #founders

Join us for an incredible conversation with Dr. Amit Phull, Chief Physician Experience Officer at Doximity, as we explore how the largest professional medical network in the United States is revolutionizing healthcare with AI-powered tools built by physicians, for physicians.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

- How Doximity grew to serve over 80% of U.S. physicians

- The development of HIPAA-compliant AI tools including Doximity GPT

- The importance of clinician input in healthcare technology

- Real-world impact: How AI is saving physicians hours and improving patient care

- The acquisition of Pathway (Montreal-based company) and integration of clinical decision support

- Privacy-focused AI scribe technology generating millions of notes

- Lessons learned from product failures and successes

Dr. Phull shares his unique journey from computer engineering to emergency medicine, and how maintaining both clinical practice and tech expertise positions him to bridge the gap between technology and healthcare delivery.

Timestamps

[00:00:00] Introduction & Welcome

[00:01:24] Dr. Phull's Journey: Computer Engineer to Emergency Physician

[00:04:00] Role as Chief Physician Experience Officer

[00:06:41] Why Maintaining Clinical Practice Matters

[00:11:04] Introduction to Doximity Tools & Platform

[00:14:52] The Secret Sauce: Clinician-Driven Development

[00:18:44] Doximity GPT Evolution & HIPAA Compliance

[00:22:21] Acquiring Pathway AI (Montreal)

[00:28:41] AI Scribe: Privacy-First Documentation

[00:30:52] Lessons from Product Failures

[00:36:18] Success Story: 10% to 90% Prior Auth Approval Rate

About Our Guest

Dr. Amit Phull, MD

Chief Physician Experience Officer, Doximity

Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician

Adjunct Lecturer, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Dr. Phull combines deep expertise in medicine, technology, and strategy. He completed his MD at University of Virginia (where he also earned a BS in Computer Science), finished emergency medicine residency at Northwestern, and has been with Doximity since 2014. He continues to practice emergency medicine while leading physician experience strategy for the nation's largest medical professional network.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-phull-09931667/

Doximity Website: https://www.doximity.com

Doximity LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/doximity

My email: roupen@deltahealth.tech

YouTube: https://youtu.be/ElB-a5Mubm4

Why do 30% of patients take medications differently than what's in their medical records? Dr. Eve Cunningham, Chief Medical Officer at Cadence, reveals the shocking gaps in traditional healthcare—and how remote patient monitoring is revolutionizing chronic disease management for 70,000+ patients across 20 health systems.

In this episode, we dive deep into:

✅ The hidden cost of episodic vs. continuous care

✅ How a practicing OB-GYN broke into healthtech leadership

✅ Why 20% of medication changes are actually DOWN-titrations

✅ The future of AI-powered clinical decision support

✅ Real outcomes: 18% fewer hospitalizations, $183/month savings per patient

TimeStamps:

Dr. Cunningham spent 20 years leading physician groups at Kaiser Permanente, CommonSpirit, and Providence before joining Cadence—a remote patient monitoring company backed by $141M from General Catalyst and Thrive Capital. She shares candid insights on physician leadership, technology transformation, and why clinicians MUST develop technical competency.

🎯 Perfect for healthcare entrepreneurs, medtech founders, physicians exploring innovation, and anyone building the future of digital health.

KEY TOPICS COVERED:

Remote patient monitoring at scale (70,000+ patients)

Clinical AI and machine learning in chronic disease management

Breaking into healthtech from clinical practice

Value-based care and Medicare reimbursement (CPT codes 99453, 99454, 99457, 99458)

Medication reconciliation and polypharmacy management

Virtual care infrastructure: telehealth, virtual nursing, hospital-at-home

Technology adoption in large health systems

The emerging clinician-engineer hybrid role

Deprescribing and down-titration opportunities

Social determinants of health and caregiver engagement

PUBLISHED OUTCOMES:

📊 New England Journal of Medicine: Catalyst validates Cadence's model: https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/CAT.24.0521

CONNECT WITH DR. EVE CUNNINGHAM:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evecunninghammd/

🔗 CONNECT WITH CADENCE:

Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cadencerpm

Website: https://www.cadence.care/

Published Research: https://www.cadence.care/outcomes-report-2024