Welcome!

I created this site after more than three years (2016-2019) of following Ra Medical Systems CEO Dean Irwin around the world as he introduced the DABRA Laser System.

I am an Emmy Award-winning journalist who's been covering innovation since 1998, including my tenure at Forbes Magazine. I moved on from there to become the Executive Director of what I helped build into the world's largest startup competition with Virgin's Sir Richard Branson as my anchor judge, vetting more than 4,000 companies over three years, only putting the best of the best before him. I branched out from there to start my own radio show in Silicon Valley, which was also the most downloaded podcast on the network, which included a HealthTech series. That's when I discovered Ra Medical's story.

I first interviewed Dean for my radio show about innovation as well as for my video podcast in May of 2016. He was more transparent and open than any other CEO of any medical device company I've covered. So, I was able to not only be in more than half of the FDA study procedures, but also take real-time video and share it at will, as well as talk candidly to doctors and patients about this new treatment and the biggest trends in healthcare.

Since I collected much more material than I could use for my program, I asked Dean if I could share all of the candid footage online. So, this site is the culmination of what I've collected along my journey, capturing the essence of what I saw, heard and experienced. It includes 1:1 interviews, first-person accounts of procedures, and video captures from conferences.

I hope this serves as an example for all medical device companies to create products that will allow them to be as transparent as Ra Medical Systems.

~Kym McNicholas
"The Innovators. Network"