Reconstructive surgery is a precise and delicate business, even for procedures as standardized as carpal tunnel surgery. Dr. Michael Bell, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa has performed more than 7,000 carpal tunnel operations over his 30-year career, and he recognizes a good surgical tool when he sees one.
That's why, almost a decade ago, he made what many in the medical community would consider an unorthodox move: He created a custom scalpel out of a woodcarving knife he'd bought from Lee Valley Tools. Designed to trim chairs and cabinets, the knife was one of the standard tools in his basement workshop, and had a handle that was rounder and easier to grip than his flat-handled scalpel.
In the summer of 1999, Dr.
Bell wrote a letter thanking Lee Valley CEO Leonard Lee for inadvertently helping to create the world's best scalpel. Lee was intrigued that one of his tools was being used in surgery, and responded by visiting Dr. Bell's clinic with several of his designers.
He was immediately appalled at the heft and relatively awkward feel of modern surgical instruments. Lee's short-term fix was to create a new handle for Dr. Bell using stainless-steel components.
Within weeks, however, the prospect of entering the life-saving business began to captivate Lee. He stepped back from his position atop the $100-million-a-year hardware chain and embraced the adrenalin-spiked rush of small-business entrepreneurship.
He had launched Lee Valley by selling cast-iron stove kits on evenings and weekends, so how hard could it be to start a tiny R D-based medical equipment maker?
Eight years later, Lee has his answer. Encouraging woodworkers to add another $12.95 chisel to their collection is considerably easier than persuading surgeons to forsake the hallowed tools of their trade.
If there is one thing Lee now knows for certain, it's that not every doctor is as inventive as Michael Bell in being willing to repurpose woodworking equipment for the O.R. Today, Lee's start-up, Canica Design, appears to be on the cusp of success or failure.
Either it will be instrumental in popularizing some radically innovative new medical devices, or it will succumb to the inertia and conservatism of a health-care industry with little appetite for change.
To discuss the challenges of breaking into the medical industry, and the difficulties of starting a new company even when you're existing business is a household name Leonard Lee will join us online Monday at 1 p.m.
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