Katerina Spranger

From Ukraine to Berlin, Oxford to Paris, Katerina Spranger has studied and worked in labs across Europe, honing her skills in computer science and technology. But after personal tragedy struck, what stuck with her the most was the disparity between the advanced use of technology in other fields and the limitations of technology in medicine and surgery.

This is what inspired her to start Oxford Heartbeat, an innovative medical device software company that uses AI to make surgeries more successful.

With a growing elderly population and rise in obesity, cardiovascular diseases represent an increasing public health concern and economic burden, with more demand for minimally-invasive surgeries using implants inserted into diseased blood vessels.

Currently, however, clinicians have no means to consistently and accurately choose the best device for each patient, despite the fact that getting the size or position wrong by less than a millimetre can render the procedure unsuccessful.

The answer was PreSize Neurovascular, a powerful AI software that allows clinicians to virtually plan brain surgeries in real time, accurately simulating implant placement. This means clinicians can rehearse the surgery before going into the operating theatre and choose the best implant for every individual patient, making the outcome more predictable, more efficient, and safer.

As a women-led startup in a male-dominated industry, Katerina is rightfully proud of the progress that Oxford Heartbeat has made and she encourages other entrepreneurs to believe in their dreams and take the journey, even if they don’t know everything from the start.