FlexDex Inc. Appoints Two New Vice Presidents

FlexDex Inc., a medical device company developing a platform of articulating laparoscopic instruments for minimally invasive surgery, has added two seasoned medical device executives to its management team.  James Bertolina, Ph.D., has joined the company as vice president of Research and Development, and Kin Cheung has been hired as vice president of International Sales and Marketing.
 
Bertolina will be responsible for managing the design and development of the company’s products and growing its technology and IP portfolio. Bertolina brings over 20 years of experience in medical device product innovation and research, including nine years with HistoSonics Inc., a venture-backed medical device company developing a non-invasive, robotically assisted, platform therapy.
 
After co-founding HistoSonics in 2009, Bertolina served as chief technology officer for eight years and most recently as chief scientific officer, leading all product development and research efforts during that time. Bertolina directed the development of HistoSonics’ therapeutic device used in a great number of preclinical applications, and was responsible for growing HistoSonics’ IP and trade secret portfolio. Prior to this time, Bertolina served as vice president of New Product Development at Xoran Inc.; technical director for the Stryker Navigation System at Stryker Corp.; and a medical physicist specializing in radiosurgery at Leibinger Inc.
 
“We are very pleased to welcome Jim to the FlexDex team. We expect that Jim’s significant experience in medical device product innovation and research will be a valuable asset as we continue to develop and expand our platform of articulating laparoscopic instruments,” stated Dr. Shorya Awtar, co-founder and chief technology officer at FlexDex.
 
Bertolina earned his bachelor and master’s of science degrees, both in physics, from the University of Utah. He received his Ph.D. and completed a postdoc in medical physics research (radiology and radiotherapy) at the University of Virginia.
 
Cheung will be responsible for the planning and execution of several key areas of the company’s overall global sales and marketing initiatives and will be vital in supporting its mission to enable minimally invasive surgery in any operating room, anytime of day, anywhere in the world. Cheung brings over 10 years of experience in developing medical device businesses in Asia, including three years with Global Link Medical Consulting & Distribution LLC, that specializes in helping medical device companies expand their business in Asia by creating a comprehensive go-to market strategy.
 
Prior to joining Global Link, Cheung served as director of Sales and Clinical Marketing, Asia Pacific, at Intuitive Surgical Inc., where he was responsible for managing direct and indirect sales and marketing channels in Asia. Cheung also previously served as global product director of Global Product Development and Global Marketing at Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. (J&J), where he managed a portfolio of surgical stapling devices with annual worldwide revenue of $260 million.
 
“Kin brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to this newly created strategic position,” said Dr. James Geiger, CEO of FlexDex Inc. “I am confident that his broad experience and strong leadership will help maximize sales of the FlexDex platform internationally.”
 
Cheung earned his bachelor of arts degree in mechanical engineering, mathematics, and physics from Wichita State University. He also is a board member and business secretary general for the Asian Pacific Prostate Society.
 
FlexDex is a medical device company that is developing the FlexDex platform to provide surgeons with high performance and cost effective minimally invasive surgical instruments. The company’s focus is to enable advanced minimally invasive procedures with greater precision and efficiency bringing the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to patients throughout the world. FlexDex was developed at the University of Michigan by co-founders Shorya Awtar, Sc.D., Geiger, and Greg Bowles. This platform technology enables highly intuitive, one-to-one mapping of the surgeon’s arm and hand motions to the articulating instrument inside the patient’s body. The patented “Virtual Center” of the FlexDex platform is a simple mechanical design that potentially could greatly enhance the capabilities of all minimally invasive surgical (MIS) instruments. The FlexDex Needle Driver, the first instrument of the FlexDex platform, has been granted the CE mark and is available for sale in the United States and internationally.