Yock declares that the key is to identify needs correctly. He suggests that one finds an area of strong consensus among thought leaders--and then do something different.

Yock comments about what is going on in the region and at Stanford in the Medtech sector. Things that make up regional advantage in this sector are very similar with what is being studied in different industries, he says. A network of expertise has now been setup in this area.

Yock tells the story of how less invasive cardiac techniques got started. He shares a video clip from Charles Dotter, better known as crazy Charlie

Yock's final suggestion comes from Wayne Gretzky. How is he so successful? Gretzky knows how to go where the puck will be, he says.

Yock emphasizes that in MedTech, there are two forces that can make your life miserable-- the FDA and Medicare. He emphasizes the importance of understanding how medicare will handle new technology. Same with the FDA; there are different pathways through the FDA and sometimes it takes longer than a year and that can be a problem in getting a technology through.

Yock talks about next generation of Medtech and biotech innovation at Stanford. The idea behind the Clark Center is to put something physically at the interface between school of engineering, school of medicine and H&S and draw people in to start interdisciplinary collaboration between the sciences. The new department of Bio-engineering, under both school of engineering and medicine, will be housed here. Yock also talks about the BioX program at Stanford.

John Simpson, a Stanford trainee in cardiology, thought the catheter system didn't work so he worked in his kitchen in Menlo Park to develop a catheter that is easier to use. He used a guidewire to travel down into the coronary artery . With money from Fogarty and Ray Williams, an angel investor, he started a company called ACS, which grew into Guidant.

Yock emphasizes how dynamic the stent market is because the numbers are just so big.

Yock talks about how over the years the technology improved and the problem of re-narrowing of blood vessels could be addressed. He shares the reasons of this re-narrowing - the blood vessels shrink. He further discusses the solution that he and other doctors have employed.

Yock talks about the interface between the universities and the industry. He talks about the rich MedTech environment at Stanford and other universities.