Meet The Disruptors in Medical Technology, A Founder’s Story with Dr Pawel Wisniewski

Pawel Wisniewski is driven by a sense of duty to provide functional, and superior medical devices in endourology. Harnessing the power of thoughtful design, the Wismed team aims to create medical technologies that are not overly engineered or complicated. Pawel Wisniewski seeks to develop solutions that are minimalistic but also optimally functional. This balance of design principles finds its foundation in over 30 years of experience in Medicine.

I grew up in Poland when life was simpler. We didn’t have cell phones or computers, so I played outside with other kids. We used to make up our own games and own toys and we learned how to improvise in everything from toys to sports equipment. I was always inventing as a child. My father was a professor of mining and was a very active innovator. We often spoke about solutions in mining at the dinner table so coming up with new solutions was always in my blood. When I became an Anesthesiologist, this specialty offered me the valuable opportunity of observing different surgeons at work and see the problems they all had in common in their work. I came up with simple solutions to these problems, that’s how medical device design and manufacturing started in my life.

As a medical practitioner and Anesthesiologist, I love to observe in OR. I always watch surgeons at work. When I see problems that surgeons are dealing with it prompts me to look for solutions or alternatives. I started Wismed because I had a few such solutions in my mind, I wanted to see if I can turn them into a product. It was also very attractive to see if I would be able to run a business. It was a challenge and an opportunity. Today Wismed has a range of products that are sold throughout the world including Japan, South Africa, the UK, and several countries in Europe. We are also actively working to bring our products to the USA. We were recognized in Europe with funding by the EU in the category of Intelligent Development to foster innovation and research in minimally invasive urology. We are heavily focused on innovation and we are in the advanced stages of developing a novel medical device that is expected to improve the outcome of kidney stone treatment and reduce the recurrence of the disease.

One of the biggest lessons I learned is to surround myself with the right team. People are the real assets and the biggest contributor to any company’s success. I have incredible drive and desire for perfection and my natural tendency is to expect the same from others. Managing people is one of the most difficult aspects of running a business and it is an ongoing learning curve. Spend time learning and thinking about the needs of the members of the team.