Today we spoke with Dark Horse Technology engineer Babak Jahani. Dark Horse is a medical device company that is changing the way doctors will perform total ankle replacement (TAR) surgeries. With an inverted design, their device will allow patients to experience more comfortability and usability in the replaced ankle than the standard fusion method currently in practice.
Q: How did you get involved with Dark Horse Technologies?
Babak: One of our founders is my advisor for my PhD at North Dakota State University. He is involved with many projects, some of which are with medical devices. I have had to do many projects as part of my research, but he got me involved with this current one in working for Dark Horse.
Q: Why is your team passionate about solving the issues with total ankle replacement?
Babak: Our product will make the lives of patients who receive total ankle replacements much easier. It is also directly related to the research background of my PhD. I have done previous work on improving the surfaces of implants and prostheses, so I saw this as a great opportunity. I also realized I had the chance to come to Memphis and I didn’t want to pass up that opportunity. I definitely wanted to come here seeing as Memphis is one of the main hubs for orthopedics.
Q: What other types of projects have you worked on for your PhD?
Babak: For my master’s thesis, I worked on how to make the porosity inside a component able to work with the different needs of the implant. For instance, sometimes the surface of an implant needs to be smooth and shiny, other times it needs to be porous with cavities so the bone can grow into the component. I have done some other projects but my current one is right now with Dark Horse Technology and total ankle replacement.
Q: What got you interested in working with prosthetics and implants?
Babak: When your research gets to a certain level, you have to decide on what you’re going to be an expert at. At the PhD level, you can’t have a broad area of knowledge and research, it’s not very attractive. You have to narrow in on something and become an expert with it. So I decided to continue my research with medical device components because I already had seven years experience in the automotive industry. Between the car industry and this kind of research, I prefer this type of work. A lot of smart people are working on progressing the automotive industry, but I feel that this industry with total ankle replacement has much more room to grow in the future. I prefer to work on something where a lot of research is still needed. As I say in my pitch, there are multiple studies claiming that 30% of the patients who receive the current method of ankle replacement are experiencing extreme pain. I want to work towards solving this problem.
Q: What was your automotive work like before you started working with Dark Horse?
Babak: I actually have two master’s degrees. The other one I received was in Materials Engineering back in my home country of Iran. After receiving that, I worked with a company that was managed by French car maker, Breguet, as a quality assurance manager. It was the biggest plant in the middle east in terms of manufacturing. My wife and I decided to leave Iran and come to the U.S. five years ago and have been living in North Dakota up until this summer.
Q: What aspect of the program have you found to be the most beneficial?
Babak: This isn’t an easy answer because we’ve had so many beneficial moments. The first would be the people I have met. Those who have come here to give workshops, presentations, office hours, Q&A, and meetings have given us so much help and advice. Second, the foundation of the program here at Start Co. and ZeroTo510 have been a huge help. I have seen a streamline of improvement and progression with every team. I have taken notes on the different programming activities we have done since day one and I am able to look back on these notes for help when I need it. Overall, I would say the people have been the biggest source of benefit. Going through the medical device space requires a lot of different work legally and having people here to help us through it all has been great.
Q: What has been your biggest accomplishment so far this summer?
Babak: I have learned that my approach to a design should not be from only one angle. I had been looking at things from only a surgical and engineering standpoint. But now, I am able to look at things maybe from a legal and business standpoint as opposed to just engineering. I remember Eric telling us that there have been great engineers and founders here that only look at things from one angle and ultimately ended up failing. Comparing myself at the start of the program to now, I have a more mature way of looking at a business as an engineer.
Q: Why do you think Memphis is the best place to launch your technology?
Babak: First of all, having big names in the medical space here like Smith & Nephew, Medtronics, and Wright Medicals gives us great opportunities. The community here offers us great potential for our device and what we’re trying to do. Plus, there are so many ankle replacement doctors and surgeons here that we haven’t been able to find nationwide. Even if we can connect and collaborate with just a small portion of these doctors here, it would be a big jump for our company. We’ve already had the chance to meet and talk with some people here that we wouldn’t have otherwise had anywhere else.
Q: What do you and your family like to do for fun here when you aren’t working?
Babak: You Memphians cannot imagine how wild of a city you have. We love downtown. All of the diverse people. The food is great, both in terms of quality and price. We also enjoy the music a lot. I can’t even imagine how many Memphis souvenirs we have bought so far. The souvenirs here are fancy compared to the other states we have visited. Most other places we have just bought magnets, but here we have found small violins, miniature guitars, and little statues of Elvis.
Q: What advice would you give to other founders thinking of going through the program?
Babak: First, be prepared to face an intense and well-organized program. Don’t look at it as a summer camp; to miss two or even one week is a huge deal. I’m happy that I’ve been around to catch as much of the programming that I could. Second, when you meet an important person or are at a workshop, try to take notes. I’m glad I practiced this from the beginning, as some of my friends here have been asking to see my notes to help with different things. Look at the summer like it’s a semester at school.
Another piece of advice is that it’s not only about you. Even if somebody is talking to someone else during a program, you should listen. Maybe there will be a question that you hadn’t thought of or had the chance to answer. Always be alert, because lots of things are going on around you that could be helpful.
Babak Jahani (Bob) is PhD student of mechanical engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU). He has completed his bachelor’s degree in materials engineering and two master’s degrees in materials engineering and mechanical engineering. He used to work in different sections of automotive industry such as materials characterization, mechanical testing and quality assurance for seven years. During his PhD research, he was attracted to the advanced projects in medical device technologies. He believes the medical device technology is a multidisciplinary technology with many potential spaces to grow.
Babak Jahani babak.jahani@ndsu.edu
By Zach Cornelison