Innovation Is More Than the Technology: What Bridge to Life Is Teaching Us About Medtech Adoption
What happens when a medical technology works, but the healthcare system isn't quite ready to use it? That question sits at the heart of a fascinating conversation on the latest episode of the Project Medtech Podcast with Don Webber, CEO of Bridge to Life, and Mauricio Carvalho, Vice President of Medical & Scientific Affairs. Bridge to Life is working to transform organ preservation and transplantation through technologies designed to preserve organs, assess their viability, and ultimately expand the pool of organs available to patients waiting for a transplant. But the company's story is also a compelling lesson in what it takes to move medtech innovation from promising technology to meaningful clinical adoption, because, as Mauricio put it, “science can be global, while implementation is definitely local.”
The Technology Is Only One Piece of the Innovation
Mauricio's career has taken him from clinical practice in Portugal and the UK to medtech product development and transplantation, giving him a unique perspective on what happens when the same technology enters different healthcare systems. One of his biggest lessons has been that proving a technology works is only the beginning. The science may be the same, but the environment surrounding that science changes dramatically from one market to another. Reimbursement, hospital economics, procurement, staffing, logistics, operating-room workflows, and institutional contracting can all influence whether a technology actually gets adopted.
That is particularly relevant in the United States, where a clinical champion may love a technology but still need to navigate multiple additional layers before that technology becomes part of routine practice. Mauricio's takeaway is simple: “Don't just build the technology. Build the system that allows people to use it.” He later expanded on that idea, explaining that the product is only one piece of innovation. The rest is creating the system around it, understanding how the technology will actually function within the environment where it is deployed. For medtech founders, that distinction can be transformative.
Bridge to Life Is Tackling a Problem Much Bigger Than Organ Supply
At first glance, the challenge in transplantation seems straightforward: there aren't enough organs for the number of people who need them. But the conversation revealed a more complicated picture. Don explained that while transplant science has achieved strong outcomes, the number of available organs remains a fundamental constraint. In the U.S. alone, roughly 110,000 people are eligible and waiting for an organ transplant, according to the discussion. Expanding the number of organs that can be safely transplanted could therefore help reduce the waiting-list burden while potentially making transplantation accessible to more patients.
Mauricio added another layer: as the population ages and recipients become sicker, transplant centers increasingly need to consider organs that may carry greater perceived risk. That creates an important tension. If physicians are responsible for transplant outcomes, they need confidence that an organ is likely to function successfully after transplantation. Technology that can preserve an organ and provide better insight into its condition could help clinicians make more informed decisions about which organs can safely be used.
That is where Bridge to Life's work comes into focus. The company is developing organ preservation and perfusion technologies intended to protect organs, support biological assessment, and help transplant teams make better-informed decisions, and the opportunity is significant.
From Clearance to Adoption
One of the most important moments in the conversation came when Don described the difference between regulatory clearance and actual adoption. His point: “Clearance is day one. Adoption has to be earned.” For Bridge to Life, that means evidence, simplicity, economics, and, perhaps most importantly, trust. That distinction should resonate with virtually every medtech company bringing a new technology to market. A regulatory milestone can establish that a product is legally cleared for its intended use. It does not automatically mean clinicians will use it, hospitals will purchase it, or workflows will change around it. Those things have to be earned, and Bridge to Life has taken a particularly hands-on approach to that process.
The company's clinical specialists work directly within transplant centers, helping clinicians become comfortable with the technology in real-world settings. Don described a clear relationship between the frequency of that clinical presence and adoption, with centers receiving more consistent support demonstrating stronger adoption. That is a powerful lesson for emerging medtech companies: Sometimes adoption happens one conversation, one question, and one clinical interaction at a time.
Interest Isn't Adoption
Mauricio made another distinction that deserves to be highlighted: Interest is not adoption. A physician can be excited about a technology and impressed by the clinical data, yet the technology can still stall inside the institution. Why? Because adoption is a systems problem. The clinical team has to understand the technology. Procurement has to be aligned. Staffing and workflow have to work. Reimbursement and contracting need to make sense. Logistics have to be manageable. If any one of those pieces becomes a bottleneck, adoption slows down. This is why Mauricio advocates identifying the right early institutions: centers where clinical interest exists alongside the organizational infrastructure necessary to move quickly. Instead of trying to convince everyone at once, find the environments where the entire system can align. Then build from there.
The Power of Being Helpful
There was another subtle lesson in the conversation that extends well beyond transplantation. Don emphasized that Bridge to Life's clinical specialists aren't there to be pushy salespeople. They're there to be helpful. That distinction matters. Clinicians are busy. They're making high-stakes decisions, often under significant pressure. A medtech representative who understands that environment can create far more value by becoming a trusted resource than by simply trying to close a sale. Mauricio described Bridge to Life's approach as a kind of partnership between commercial and clinical support: the sales representative handles the commercial and institutional side while the clinical specialist provides hands-on support within the clinical environment. Over time, that support helps clinicians build confidence and become proficient with the technology themselves. It is a model rooted in a simple principle: Provide value first. When you do that consistently, trust follows.
Why This Matters
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this conversation isn't about transplantation at all. It's about how we think about innovation. Great technology can solve a real problem. But sustainable innovation requires much more:
It requires understanding the clinical environment.
It requires understanding economics.
It requires designing for workflow.
It requires building trust.
It requires developing the evidence.
It requires choosing the right partners.
It requires a team capable of bringing all those pieces together.
As Mauricio put it, “the product is only one piece of the innovation.” That may be one of the most important lessons for the next generation of medtech companies. Don't just ask: “Does the technology work?” Ask: “What needs to be true for this technology to work in the real world?” That's where innovation becomes adoption, and where technology can begin to change patient lives.
What to Watch
Bridge to Life is also entering an important stage of growth. The company recently completed a $110 million Series C and debt financing, with funding intended to support the commercial rollout of its VitaSmart™ Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) System, expand its field team, reach U.S. transplant centers, advance a viability assessment tool, and broaden its organ preservation portfolio.
Capital alone doesn't create scale. People do. Both Don and Mauricio spoke extensively about the importance of building the right team. For Mauricio, that starts with ownership. People do their best work when they have ownership over what they are building, room for creativity, and a shared vision they genuinely believe in. For Don, it comes down to mission and accountability. Every product Bridge to Life sells ultimately touches a patient's life. Don wants employees to understand that connection and feel energized by the opportunity to make a meaningful difference.
But mission isn't enough on its own. Accountability matters, too. As Don explained, the team holds one another to high standards, and that collective accountability has helped the company accomplish an extraordinary amount in a short period of time, including five FDA registrations (four 510(k)s and one De Novo) within 12 months.
To hear the full conversation with Bridge to Life, listen to Episode 282 of the Project Medtech Podcast here: https://www.projectmedtech.com/projectmedtechpodcast/episode/45b946f6/episode-282-don-webber-mauricio-carvalho-of-bridge-to-life-transforming-organ-transplantation-through-innovative-solutions
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