From a Surgeon's Experience to Medical Innovation: The Story Behind Octin Health
Sometimes, innovation begins with a simple question: Isn’t there a better way?
For Dr. Meghana Helder, a Mayo Clinic-trained cardiovascular surgeon, that question became deeply personal after her unique experience in going from a high volume academic training to a community practice and what that means in preventative aortic care. She became acutely aware that resource limitations actually were discouraging surgeons from offering operations per guidelines when weighing the risk and benefit. This finally came to a head when she lost a patient, following a complex, high-risk aortic operation. Throughout her career, Dr. Helder has witnessed firsthand the challenges surgeons face when treating patients with serious aortic conditions. Even when these procedures are successful, they can carry significant risks. Recognizing the need for better options, she founded Octin Health in 2024 with a mission to make aortic surgery safer and more accessible.
Addressing a Critical Challenge in Cardiac Surgery
The aorta carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body. When it develops an aneurysm or tear, the consequences can be life-threatening, often with little warning. Repairing damage to the aortic is particularly challenging, because of the unique anatomy and inaccessibility to external control of this vessel in it’s different course. Traditional surgical approaches require cooling a patient’s body to extremely low temperatures and temporarily stopping blood circulation, allowing surgeons to repair the damaged vessel. This operation is truly between a rock and a hard place, because it is life-saving but carries such high risk.
At Octin Health, we’re developing the Elika Device™, designed to maintain blood flow to the brain and other vital organs while allowing surgeons to repair the damaged portion of the aorta, by allowing temporary occlusion of blood flow only in portion of the aorta that needs to be repaired. Our goal is to reduce the risks associated with these complex procedures and ultimately make life-saving surgery more accessible to patients and the communities where they live.
Building on Minnesota’s Medical Technology Legacy
Minnesota has long been a leader in cardiac surgical medical technology, and we’re proud to build on that legacy. From the pioneering history of open-heart surgery and the heart-lung machine at both the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic to today’s network of medical device manufacturers, researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs, our state offers an exceptional environment for turning clinical challenges into innovative solutions.
Our relationships in this robust community with the University of Minnesota and University Enterprise Laboratories (UEL), and Minnesota’s broader medical technology community have opened doors to mentorship, technical expertise, collaboration, and potential investors. We’ve benefited from experienced professionals who are willing to share their knowledge and help emerging companies like ours navigate the challenges of bringing new medical technologies to market.
Saint Paul’s growing innovation community has also been an important part of our journey. Through opportunities to connect with local entrepreneurs, business leaders, and organizations such as Full Stack Saint Paul, we’re building relationships that support our growth and strengthen our connection to the region.
Photo by Minnesota Cup, Winners Octin Health with Minnesota Cup Founders
A Major Milestone: Winning the 2026 MN Cup
In September, we were honored to receive the 2026 MN Cup Grand Prize, one of Minnesota’s most prestigious entrepreneurial recognitions.
Selected from a competition that attracted more than 2,800 participants, our team received $76,000 in non-dilutive funding, along with valuable exposure and validation from experienced business and industry leaders. Throughout the competition, mentors and judges challenged us to communicate a complex medical problem in ways that investors, business leaders, and people outside the healthcare industry could understand. The experience helped us sharpen our business strategy and better articulate not only what the Elika Device does, but why it matters, beginning with patients and extending to the wider ecosystem.
The MN Cup recognition also brought an exciting opportunity for office space at University Enterprise Laboratories in Saint Paul. Having a collaborative space where our team can gather, refine prototypes, and connect with other innovative companies is an important step as we continue developing our technology.
We’re particularly excited about the opportunities to build relationships with other entrepreneurs and businesses in Saint Paul. From participating in local entrepreneurial programming such as Strengthen the Strong to connecting with the Full Stack Saint Paul community, we’ve experienced firsthand the value of being part of a network that encourages collaboration and supports emerging businesses.
Looking Ahead
Over the next year, our focus is on advancing the Elika Device through continued development and the FDA regulatory process, bringing us closer to our goal of making aortic surgery safer and more accessible.
Our journey, from identifying a critical surgical challenge to developing a potential solution and finding a community willing to help bring that vision to life, reflects the strength of Minnesota’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. We’re especially grateful for the welcome we’ve received from Saint Paul’s business and innovation community, from our new space at UEL to the relationships we’re building through local programs and Full Stack Saint Paul. As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue growing our company here and contributing to a community that has already played an important role in our story.
About Our Leadership
Dr. Meghana Helder, Founder and CEO
Dr. Meghana Helder is a Mayo Clinic-trained cardiovascular surgeon whose firsthand experiences treating patients with complex aortic disease inspired her to establish Octin Health in 2024. With extensive experience in surgical practice, clinical research, and academic medicine, she is committed to developing technology that makes complex aortic procedures safer and more accessible.
Laura Walter, Chief Operating Officer
Laura Walter oversees Octin Health’s day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives, including investor relations, business development, and organizational growth. She plays an important role in advancing the company’s technology and building the partnerships necessary to bring its innovations to market.
Adam Tschida, Chief Technical Officer
Adam is a seasoned leader with extensive experience guiding companies from concept to commercialization. He joins Octin Health from Crossfire Medical, where he has served as both COO and CTO since 2022. Previously, he held strategic roles in R&D and Operations at VentureMed Group, Philips, Spectranetics, Covidien, and ev3.
Patrick Shanley, Chief Regulatory Officer
Patrick is a proven operational leader who has guided teams across operations, product development, quality, regulatory, and clinical programs, helping take a novel Class II medical device from development through regulatory clearance, clinical trials, commercialization, and broad hospital adoption. He served as Chief Operating Officer of Attune Medical, helping build the company from an early-stage startup into a global medical device business with commercial presence across the globe, including playing a major role in fundraising and led key portions of the M&A process that resulted in Attune’s acquisition by Haemonetics.
Anne Meyer, Chief Financial Officer
Anne is an experienced cardiovascular medtech finance executive whose background spans early-stage startups to publicly traded companies. She previously served as Senior Director, Corporate Controller at Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI), where she led financial operations and played a key role in the company’s acquisition by Abbott in 2023. She also serves as CFO of Neoolife, Inc., where she built the finance function from the ground up.
Scott Ward, Board Member
With over 40 years of leadership in healthcare and medical technology, Mr. Ward most recently held key roles, including CEO of Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. before its acquisition by Abbott, and nearly 30 years at Medtronic, where he led the Cardiovascular, Neurological, and Diabetes businesses, driving transformative growth. Beyond his executive career, Mr. Ward has served on over 15 public and private company boards, chairs the Philanthropy Board at Gillette Children’s Hospital.
John Slump, Board Member
John Slump is a medtech founder, operator, and investor with a proven track record of building category-defining medical device companies from concept through commercialization and acquisition. He has served as a founder and/or executive of four medical device companies that exited for more than $1.25 billion in total transaction value.
Dr. Meghana Helder, Founder & CEO
Octin Health
Dr. Meghana Helder is a Mayo Clinic-trained cardiac surgeon and Founder and CEO of Octin Health. She has extensive experience in academic medicine, clinical research and surgical practice. Throughout her career, she has focused on advancing surgical techniques and improving patient outcomes. Her passion for innovation and patient care led her to establish Octin Health to develop technology designed to make complex aortic surgery safer.