Who’s who on Team Camcon Medical?
Binary Actuation Technology (BAT) was first invented in 1998 by Wladyslaw Wygnanski, who joined forces with Daniel Chapchal and Christopher McDouall († 2017) to apply this precision flow control technology to the oil and gas and automotive industries. Following a decade of huge success, the decision was made to extend the application of BAT into the healthcare and life sciences industries, with the key aim of improving patient outcomes. Thus, Camcon Medical was born. The company have since expanded their executive team to include Charles Potter, who has a depth of knowledge of the medical devices sector, and Simon Saxby, who has a wealth of experience in executive and management positions across the healthcare industry.
Here, Wladyslaw Wygnanski and Charles Potter, both Directors of Camcon Medical Ltd., Daniel Chapchal, Deputy Chairman at Camcon Federation of Companies and Simon Saxby, Advisor to the board at Camcon Medical, provide further insight into their new venture and what they hope to achieve with this versatile and exciting technology.
Q. First of all, where does the name ‘Camcon’ come from?
A. Wladyslaw sheds light, “Some trivia! ‘Camcon’ is a combination of the words ‘Cambridge’ and ‘concept’. Cambridge Concept Ltd was my one-man band company, which I originally founded from my garden shed. When Rolls Royce invited me to join an international consortium to jointly run an ambitious R&D program, the name “Cambridge Concept” was considered too long hence ‘Camcon’ was used instead. Later, when investment agreement for continuation was signed, a new company was registered and Camcon Ltd. was ‘born’ – the rest is history!”
Q. Why is the time right to venture into the healthcare industry?
A. Wladyslaw explains that, “I’ve always been interested in creating and inventing for the benefit of people. Whilst there was a deliberate decision for Camcon to initially target the oil and gas (Silverwell) and automotive industries (Camcon Auto) for commercial reasons, it was always my hope that this game-changing technology would somehow help human beings by having an impact within healthcare, directly benefiting people and improving the quality of their lives.”
Daniel provides further insight, “Now is an exciting time in healthcare! There is a ‘technology revolution’ currently taking place and it is gaining an incredible pace. Technology is increasingly seen as the key to creating a healthcare environment that is sustainable and efficient. Camcon Medical plans to be part of this revolution.
Simon elaborates further, “We believe that in healthcare, true innovation needs to deliver all three dimensions of value – clinical benefit, patient quality of life and economic value to the whole system and I wholeheartedly believe products that can utilise BAT will undoubtedly have this potential.”
Q. How can BAT help patients now and in the future?
A. Charles feels that, “There are a vast number of potential applications of BAT in different fields of science or medicine; in the lab, within devices, for external or implantable use; for both hospital and home use. Addressing unmet patient need and increasing the quality of life for people who require both short-term and long-term treatment is fundamental to Camcon Medical’s values.
One of the company’s first ventures has been to apply BAT into an oxygen delivery device by capitalising on its precise, intelligent air flow capabilities to provide better patient safety and outcomes for people who require oxygen therapy.”
Q. Where will BAT make the biggest impact in healthcare?
A. Daniel highlights, “There is a world of opportunities that Camcon Medical could pursue in this industry due to a broad range of potential applications of BAT. The real challenge for us was to map and prioritise areas with the greatest impact, but also with a reasonable level of complexity when it comes to commercialising the technology, to ensure that the first foray in the life sciences will be one that we don’t have to wait too long for. Medical devices fitted that profile and it’s the focus for our initial efforts.
Wladyslaw continues: “But this is just the start. Whilst we also hope to apply the technology to an array of devices, perhaps the most exciting potential for Camcon Medical is to apply BAT to an existing treatment within the human body. Whilst this area of medicine has regulatory and approval challenges, we do hope to explore how BAT can be applied to implantable devices which require precise control of flow or pressure of body fluids.”
Charles elaborates further: “The technology also has an obvious role to play in dosage measurement which can apply to a large number of areas within medicine, especially as drug administration and adherence are a huge area of debate in terms of cost-effectiveness and time-efficiency. The phenomenal accuracy of the technology for measuring dosage could also make this an extraordinary application of BAT in medicine.”
Q. Finally, what is the mission of Camcon Medical as a organisation?
A. Simon explains: “The team at Camcon Medical have huge ambitions, and rightly so! In the short-term, we truly want to set the bar for medical devices in respiratory care, with a number of innovative applications already in the pipeline.
However, whilst the technology can boast an array of scientific benefits, the true worth of this technology will be measured by how it changes patients’ lives. As an organisation, we can only do that by working with industry stakeholders across healthcare and listening to patients to help identify potential applications of this technology. Listening, partnering, creating – that is the true long-term mission of Camcon Medical.”
Wladyslaw summarises: “Camcon Medical is primed to collaborate with partners to use this technology to develop new solutions and improve existing products that meet important healthcare needs. Watch this space!”
 Wladyslaw |  Charles |  Daniel |  Simon |
