Executive Profile: Dr. David Anschel – Long Island Business News

In an effort to prevent post-operative vision loss, Dr. David Anschel is on a mission to convince hospitals to adopt his invention.

Its not common for patients to lose their vision after surgery. But when it happens, its devastating. Of the 2 million spine, brain and cardiac surgeries performed each year, 3,500 result in whats known as post-operative vision loss, or POVL.

Thats according to research by Dr. David Anschel, who is board-certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy and currently heads up the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center of Long Island at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson. Through his company, Rocky Point-based Anschel Technology, he has invented SightSaver, an FDA-approved and patented device that monitors the visual system during surgery and helps reduce the risk of POVL. To hospitals across the country, Anschel is pitching SightSaver as an upgrade to the system they might already have in place, claiming his device is more comfortable, more hygienic and more reliable. And, he said, the device has already been used on hundreds of patients across the country. Anschel spoke with LIBN about the process and what compelled him to become an inventor.

Is there a direct connection between your medical specializations and your invention?

I have a sub-specialization in clinical neurophysiology including intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. I was serving on the faculty of Stony Brook University Hospital as its director of intraoperative monitoring when I made the decision to develop a better solution for monitoring the visual system during surgery. This involves monitoring and preserving the integrity of the nervous system during surgery. In 2006, my patient went blind during spine surgery and I wanted to find a way to prevent this horrible complication.

That must have been terrible. What is the process of developing such an invention?

After my patient went blind, I tried using the various products on the market at that time for monitoring vision function during surgery, but they did not provide good results. I then began making modifications to some of the off-the-shelf products, which ultimately led to my inventing a new solution the SightSaver, to prevent blindness, which is nearly the worst possible surgical complication, second only to death.

Is there a specific problem that SightSaver addresses?

Post-operative visual loss, or POVL. Many people have no idea that the risk of vision loss during surgery exists. This is particularly true for the over 2 million higher risk operations performed in the U.S. each year. It is not fully understood why some patients become blind during non-intracranial surgeries, but we do know that most are due to optic nerve ischemia [damage of the optic nerve that caused by a blockage of its blood supply, according to Merck Manuals]. The SightSaver helps prevent potential vision loss through better detection and intervention using visual evoked potentials, which is a highly sensitive method for detecting optic nerve dysfunction such as ischemia.

Do certain surgeries pose a higher risk of potential vision loss?

Certain brain and ocular procedures are the highest risk. Additionally, cardiac and spine surgery each are associated with much higher rates of POVL than other non-ocular procedures. However, POVL can occur in a wide range of surgeries, from joint replacements and peripheral vascular to rhinoplasty and certain urological and gynecological procedures using robotics.

What do you tell hospitals as to why they should choose your device over what they are currently using in their surgical units?

SightSaver may help prevent the second worst possible surgical complication. The risks posed by SightSaver appear to be negligible, with a minimal additional cost, which should be recovered likely at a profit by the hospital. These would seem compelling enough reasons for hospitals to explore a better way to monitor the visual system during surgery. For the hospitals across the nation who have already been using the SightSaver on hundreds of patients, I think its value proposition has been demonstrated.

You mention profits, but would your device play a role in helping contain healthcare costs?

The costs of blindness are tremendous. Each case of prevented blindness represents an enormous savings to our healthcare system and allows that person to remain a more productive member of society.

Tell us about what its like to pitch your device in regions where there is a broad selection of high quality hospitals and other healthcare providers?

Competition encourages innovation and implementation of new treatments, so it is very important. Unfortunately, the trend in this country is towards a more centralized and less innovative environment. Thats why in presenting the SightSaver my first outreach within a hospital is to its surgeons, neurologists and anesthesiologists, because their primary focus is on their patients and not on maintaining the status quo.

Did you always want to be a doctor or do you believe there was always an inventor inside you that possibly could have taken you down another career path?

I have always been a curious person and interested in science. Over time, I eventually focused on medicine, but could see myself shifting paths at some point. Where that path may lead, I dont know yet.

What advice do you have for other inventors as they seek to secure FDA approval?

Be persistent and try to lead each step of the process, but dont be afraid to seek help. I did work with a design engineer on the product design and an electrical engineer on the circuitry. Once the device was produced, I subjected it to clinical trials leading to research abstracts attesting to its performance efficacy [and] presented at scientific conferences and ultimately peer-reviewed publications.

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Executive Profile: Dr. David Anschel - Long Island Business News