Stereotaxis: When the Hammer Finds the Nail

Stereotaxis began as a research project--developing a magnetic surgical guidance system--that serendipitously became a company without much regard for commercial prospects. The original design was ahead of the technology curve, but innovations in magnetic and imaging systems fortuitously enabled Stereotaxis to turn this concept into a product. The company's system, however, was and still remains far ahead of the necessary adjunctive drugs and devices necessary to become a viable therapeutic tool in neurology, the area Stereotaxis first sought to pursue. Looking for applications in other specialties for what it believes is a platform technology, Stereotaxis shifted its focus to cardiology. The company launched a system that has been well-received in the small but growing area of electrophysiology. Most recently, Stereotaxis has begun to focus on what could be its most significant opportunity: interventional cardiology. Here, too, the company appears to be the beneficiary of good timing: in the era of drug-eluting stents, interventionalists are likely to treat more difficult patients, the cases that could benefit most from Stereotaxis' advanced guidance system. The company's system, however, was and still remains far ahead of the adjunctive drugs and devices necessary to become a viable therapeutic tool in neurology, the area Stereotaxis first sought to pursue.