About US
Hearing Advanced.
We are a diverse team of medical technology professionals and clinicians focused on bringing impactful technology to market. Our core values center around the effect that easy-to-use technology can have on opening up access and improving outcomes for surgical interventions.
iotaMotion, Inc. was founded in 2015 by Otolaryngologists from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which has been at the forefront of cochlear implant development over the last 30 years. We bring that deep experience into every product we have in development.
Hearing Advanced.
We are a diverse team of medical technology professionals and clinicians focused on bringing impactful technology to market. Our core values center around the effect that easy-to-use technology can have on opening up access and improving outcomes for surgical interventions.
iotaMotion, Inc. was founded in 2015 by Otolaryngologists from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which has been at the forefront of cochlear implant development over the last 30 years. We bring that deep experience into every product we have in development.
Meet our Team
Chris Kaufmann, MD, MS | President and CEO
Dr. Chris Kaufmann is a co-founder and co-inventor of the company’s technology, and is responsible for business and technology development. Dr. Kaufmann is an early career clinician-engineer who is an Otolaryngology resident and current NIH T32 R01 research fellow at the University of Iowa, Department of Otolaryngology in Dr. Hansen’s lab. He completed his biomedical engineering graduate work in the Advanced Implant Materials and Systems lab under Dr. Mauli Agrawal. Dr. Kaufmann has industry concept development experience in the R&D department at KCI (San Antonio, Texas) with resulting patents. In addition to his clinical training, Dr. Kaufmann has research and industry experience in biomaterials, medical devices, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.
Marlan Hansen, MD, FACS | Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Marlan Hansen is a co-founder and co-inventor of the company’s technology, and is a key opinion leader in cochlear implants based on his extensive clinical experience, publications and industry relationships. Dr. Hansen is an expert clinician-scientist trained in neurotology/skull base surgery and cell and molecular neurobiology. He is the Marvin and Rose Lee Pomerantz Professor of Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery at the University of Iowa. He completed a neurotology surgical fellowship training at the House Ear Clinic. Currently, his clinical practice focuses on both cochlear implants and surgery of the inner ear and skull base. He is active in research and publications, currently serving as the PI for a clinical trial funded by the Dept. of Defense to use hearing preservation electrodes to treat veterans with noise-induced hearing loss; and is co-investigator on the ongoing clinical trials at the University of Iowa that determine the outcomes achieved with hearing preservation cochlear implant surgery.
Eric B. Timko | Board Member, Executive Chairman
Mr. Timko joined iotaMotion as Executive Chairman in 2016, bringing with him over 20 years of experience in the medical industry. Previously, Mr. Timko was President and CEO of Blue Belt Technologies which was acquired by Smith and Nephew in January of 2016 for $275 million. Prior to joining Blue Belt, Mr. Timko served as President and CEO of NeuroVasx, Inc., President of Carl Zeiss Surgical, Inc., and as Vice President of Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. Mr. Timko possesses a proven track record in building an effective and profitable organization and brings vast experience in medical technologies at both the start-up and commercial stages and across many specialties such as orthopaedics, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and several others. Mr. Timko also serves on the Boards of XTANT Medical, Orthalign and the Minnesota Chapter of Folds of Honor.
Allan Henslee, PhD | Director of Research & Development
Dr. Allan Henslee is an experienced biomedical engineer with a diverse technical background including doctoral training under Dr. Antonios Mikos at Rice University, and experience as a Product Engineer at Alcon. Dr. Henslee has in the past served as CEO of Cellula Enterprises, a medical device startup. He brings years of biomedical research experience ranging from biomaterials development to product design and testing. Dr. Henslee was both a graduate and post-doctoral research associate at Rice University and the Institute of Orthopedic Research and Education.
Matt Jackels | Software Engineer
Matt is a software engineer with a background in medical device and computer science. Previously he worked for Blue Belt Technologies, a medical robotics startup, as well as Smith & Nephew. He holds a BS degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois.
Parker Reineke | Biomedical Engineer
Parker Reineke graduated with a Biomedical Engineering degree from the University of Iowa in 2017. He previously worked for the innovative medical device start-up, Iowa MADE, under the University of Iowa as the Quality System Manager, bringing 510(k) exempt medical devices to market.
Caitlin Kelly | Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Caitlin Kelly is a University of Iowa graduate with a bachelors degree in Political Science, a minor in Human Relations, and a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from the Tippie College of Business. Caitlin has experience assisting with both administrative and managerial tasks. She enjoys working in a startup environment, having served as a Communications Intern for Open Primaries, a political nonprofit organization in New York City.
CONSULTANTS
Deb Arthur | Regulatory Affairs
Lisa Ingham | Clinical Affairs
Bob Sommerdorf | Quality Assessment
Marie Calabria | Operations Assessment
Adam Hahn | Engineering
Adam Simone | Marketing
Scientific Advisory Board
Craig Buchman, MD | Scientific Advisory Board Member
Dr. Buchman is the Lindburg Professor and Head of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Buchman is a renowned leader in cochlear implants, specifically electrocochleography and its role as an indicator of insertion trauma. He is one of the most active cochlear implant surgeons in the country and his research interests are broad in the field of hearing loss and rehabilitation. Dr. Buchman received his Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Georgia, and his MD from the University of Florida before his residency in Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a fellowship in Otology / Neurotology / Skull Base Surgery at House Ear Institute and Clinic.
J. Thomas Roland, Jr., MD | Scientific Advisory Board Member
Dr. John Thomas Roland, Jr., M.D., serves as Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Roland is a pioneer in investigating cochlear implant insertion forces and has lead work in early experimental robotic systems. He has significantly advanced the state-of-the-art for ENT patient care through a strong focus on translational and scientific research. Dr. Roland received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MD from Temple University School of Medicine before his residency and fellowship at NYU Medical Center.
Advisors
Chris Smith | Strategic Business Advisor
Mr. Smith is an experienced medical device executive, most recently serving as CEO of Cochlear Limited (Sydney, Australia), prior to which he served as President of the Cochlear Americas business. He has proven experience in building results-oriented teams, and leading cross cultural global organizations that accelerate revenue growth, improve commercial operations, (sales, clinical and marketing), enhance new product development and increase shareholder value.