Angel Investor · Clinician Perspective

Angel investing in
surgical technology.

Surgical robotics, spine implants, digital OR infrastructure, and physician education. Rod invests in medtech because he uses medtech. His perspective is clinical, not financial.

His Role as an Investor

A physician who
invests occasionally.

Investing is a secondary activity that follows his clinical identity, not the other way around.

  • Runs a quaternary spine service at Swedish Neuroscience Institute
  • Leads the Seattle Science Foundation, a CME nonprofit
  • Edits an open-access surgical journal
  • Trains fellowship surgeons annually
10K+ Surgeries. That is the clinical judgment he brings.
  • Surgical network spanning AANS, NASS, and AOSpine
  • Firsthand knowledge of what gets adopted inside real hospital systems
  • Direct access for founders: can say whether a product will be used in an OR, and why
What He Looks For

He looks for these things:

01
Clinical Proof

Does the data exist? Is it real or projected?

02
Surgeon Adoption

Will surgeons actually use this in a real OR, under real time pressure?

03
Patient Outcome

Does it move the needle for the patient, or just the P&L?

04
Scalability

Can it be taught, standardized, and replicated across surgical programs?

Investment Thesis

Where the interest
sits.

Each area reflects something he has lived directly: in the OR, in the lab, or in a courtroom.

"I have used bad tools and good ones. I know what the difference feels like mid-case. That is the only perspective I can offer a founder, and it is the only one I actually trust."
Dr. Rod J. Oskouian, MD, FAANS
Thesis Boundaries

What falls outside
the thesis.

He cannot add useful clinical judgment to products outside his daily practice. These categories fall outside that scope.

  • -- General consumer health apps without a clinical evidence foundation or physician integration model
  • -- Direct-to-consumer diagnostic tools that route patients away from physician oversight rather than toward better physician-patient interaction
The Question He Asks

Does this make it easier for a physician to do the right thing for a patient, or does it route around that relationship entirely? The answer usually clarifies things quickly.

Founder Inquiries

Founder
inquiries.

  • He reads every pitch personally
  • Include: what the product does, who it is for, and the clinical evidence
  • If it fits the thesis, he responds

No response within 3 weeks means the product falls outside the current thesis. He does not respond to decline.

All investment activity is conducted in a personal capacity and is separate from Dr. Oskouian's clinical role at Swedish Health Services. Financial relationships with medical device companies are disclosed via CMS Open Payments. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an investment.