Clinical Strategy Advisor

Neurosurgeon · Engineer · Industry Advisor

Practicing neurosurgeon with an engineering background and prior experience as a medtech founder and healthcare-PE clinical advisor. I work with medtech companies, neurotechnology startups and healthcare investors on clinical adoption risk, evidence strategy, surgical workflow fit and product-market credibility.

Combined profile: BEng in Civil Engineering, MD, board-certified neurosurgeon, PhD in Experimental Medicine — able to work across the clinical, technical and investor sides of a medtech decision.

Track record

Founder & CEO — Nucleode S.r.l. (2017–2022)

Italian medtech startup. Built three products from scratch and deployed them in production:
  • AR surgical navigation system (HoloLens-based) used in real neurosurgical procedures, with a technology partnership with Microsoft.
  • Cloud-native EHR/HIS deployed across 10 Italian hospitals.
  • Pediatric EHR adopted by 4 clinical centers.
Operated at VP and C-level with industrial partners with revenues exceeding €1B.

Clinical Advisor — Advent International (2022–2023)

Healthcare private equity. Supported the evaluation of healthcare-sector transactions.

Patent

NuCMS — Italian patent registration (SIAE n. 012823).

Authorized engagement

Speaker / Faculty — LivaNova Educational Course on Neuromodulation and Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Udine, 2026. Activity performed subject to prior authorization where applicable and in compliance with applicable institutional rules.

Open to

SAB roles · clinical strategy advisory · medtech / neurotech due diligence · strategic consulting
  • Medtech (devices, implants, surgical platforms)
  • Neurotechnology (neuromodulation, neurostimulation, BCI)
  • Surgical AI and digital health
  • Augmented / mixed reality in surgery
  • Pharma neuroscience (clinical strategy)
  • Healthcare PE / VC funds (clinical-side diligence)

How I can help

Scientific Advisory BoardMember of SAB / Clinical Advisory Board for medtech, neurotech and pharma companies.
Clinical adoption & workflow fitAssessing whether a device or platform fits real surgical workflow, KOL acceptance, integration with existing standards of care.
Evidence strategyDesign of clinical studies, endpoint definition, post-market clinical follow-up, evidence package for regulatory and reimbursement.
Due diligence (clinical-side)Technical and clinical assessment of neurotech, AI medical devices, AR/MR surgical platforms, implantable devices.
Regulatory gap analysisMDR / EU AI Act / FDA strategy for neurosurgical and neuromodulation devices.
Founder mentorshipFor early-stage neurotech / medtech founders: clinical validation, design control, evidence-first roadmap.
Lecture & proctoringTalks, symposia, congress sessions. Surgical proctoring on procedures of expertise.
Expert opinion & perizieTechnical opinions, expert witness in civil/administrative matters.

Areas of expertise

Functional neurosurgery & neuromodulationVagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS), drug-resistant epilepsy, occipital nerve stimulation, pain neuromodulation.
Hydrocephalus & CSF dynamicsiNPH, LOVA, pediatric hydrocephalus. Biomarkers, quantitative neuroimaging, patient selection for shunt/ETV.
Quantitative neuroimaging & AIRadiomics, cortical thickness analysis, resting-state fMRI, deep learning on brain MRI. Quantum-inspired algorithms applied to surgery.
Neuro-oncologyGlioblastoma, meningioma, schwannomas, pituitary adenomas, brain metastases. Pediatric posterior fossa tumors.
Vascular neurosurgeryAneurysms, cavernous malformations, AVMs. Integrated microsurgery / endovascular management.
AR / Mixed Reality in surgerySurgical planning and intraoperative guidance. Ex-founder of HoloLens-based system with Microsoft partnership.
MDR / AI Act regulatoryGap analysis, AI classification, evidence strategy for CE marking, design control, clinical evaluation.
Clinical evaluation strategyClinical study design, endpoint definition, evidence generation for implantable medical devices.

Selected companies & institutions

  • Advent International — private equity, healthcare. Clinical Advisor 2022–2023.
  • LivaNova — medical devices, neuromodulation. Speaker/Faculty for an educational course on VNS (Udine, 2026).
  • Microsoft — technology partnership on HoloLens (Mixed Reality) applications for surgery.
  • Nucleode S.r.l. — medtech, founder (2017–2022).
  • Friuli Centrale Healthcare Trust (ASUFC, Italian SSN) — Attending Neurosurgeon since 2024.
  • University of Udine, Padua, Pavia — medical, neurosurgical, doctoral training and ongoing research collaborations.
  • Institute of Image-Guided Surgery (IHU), Strasbourg — Visiting Researcher 2020.
  • University of Pittsburgh, Northwestern University (Chicago) — Research Fellowships.

Get in touch

The preferred channel for a first conversation about a potential collaboration is LinkedIn.

Connect on LinkedIn

Any extra-institutional engagement is subject to prior authorization from the employing healthcare authority, where applicable, and to conflict-of-interest verification. All activities are performed strictly outside service hours, without use of facilities, data, documentation, personnel, infrastructure or resources of ASUFC (Friuli Centrale Healthcare Trust), and do not imply representation of, or endorsement by, the Trust.