Coffee Break: Chuck Doherty, CEO of VasSol Inc.

A Q&A with Chuck Doherty is CEO of VasSol Inc. in River Forest.

Q: How do you describe your business?

A: By FDA standards, we are a medical device manufacturer, but we think of ourselves as producing software to improve stroke diagnostics and treatment planning. We manufacture a software product called Non-Invasive Optimal Vessel Analysis. FDA-approved since 2001, it runs on magnetic resonance imaging equipment found in most hospitals and imaging centers. NOVA helps answer fundamental questions that physicians confront when treating vascular disease: what is the severity, how is the condition best treated, and what is the outcome. ... We're exploring applications to measure blood flow in the ophthalmic artery in the eye and the flow of cerebral spinal fluid.

Q: How are products connected or seen in the suburbs?

A: Our product is used in five hospitals in the Chicago area, including Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and Silver Cross Hospital in Lemont. By year-end, we'll be in Northwestern Memorial Hospital downtown. NOVA is also in use elsewhere in the U.S. as well as in Asia, Canada and Europe.

Q: How did you get into this industry?

A: I spent 25 years running business segments and my own company in the financial business. When I retired from the financial business, I wanted to begin a new career that would truly help people, and one where I would work each day with smart, motivated people. Now I work to improve people's lives and receive almost daily feedback from brain surgeons.

Q: What is the biggest obstacle you have faced?

A: Waiting. There were many believers in our product, but the absolutely critical clinical evidence that we needed, the evidence that proved that measuring blood flow can be predictive of stroke risk, was finally confirmed by a six-year, National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial, the results of which were announced at the International Stroke Conference in February.

Q: Who has had the most influence in your life?

A: My father. He ran his own accounting firm for many years before becoming president of the Chicago (then Midwest) Stock Exchange. More importantly, my father always emphasized balance in life. There has to be time for business, for customers, but that must be balanced with time for faith, family, friends and even time alone.

Q: If you could put your company name on any sports venue which one would you choose?

A: Funny question. I have to wonder if any sports venue would want to be associated with stroke — even stroke prevention! That said, blood-flow definitely plays a role in cognitive function. So perhaps we could play a role in concussion diagnosis — and affiliate ourselves with a football or ice hockey team. Maybe a chess tournament. Whatever team played in our stadium would have to wear red!

Q: What was your first paying job?

A: I delivered the Chicago Daily News after school from the time I was 9 or 10 — riding my bicycle whenever there was less than an inch of snow..

Q: As a local business, what has been your company's biggest obstacle during the recession?

A: Changes in the health insurance markets have created uncertainty with hospitals. Radiology, especially, has seen large budget cuts. When faced with budgetary cuts, it can be difficult to purchase even lifesaving technology.

Q: How has business been this past year?

A. This has been the most exciting year in our history. In February, NIH trial results revealed that blood-flow data as measured with NOVA is a “robust, independent predictor of recurrent stroke.” In July, the FDA warned about the use of contrast agents in MRI imaging; NOVA studies offer a tremendous alternative to contrast-based imaging.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

A. My office is only minutes from a golf course, and I like to wind down after work hitting golf balls at the range. A glass of wine with dinner completes the evening.

Q: What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you in your career?

A: In my first week at VasSol I volunteered as a test subject for a new customer learning to use the software. All I had to do was lie down in the MR scanner while my colleague instructed the technicians. Because I was not an actual patient, I wore my street clothes — complete with magnetic collar stays. The scanner pulled the stays right out of shirt and we were lucky to find them and safely take them out of the scanner. It was very embarrassing that the CEO of the MR software company did not think to remove his magnetic collar stays. I am now completely committed to plastic.

Q: What are people in your industry talking about?

People are talking about the recent FDA warnings about gadolinium. They're probably talking more about the recent “Mr. Clean” trial that proved that physicians can safely attempt to remove clots from patients who are having a stroke using a device called a “stent retriever,” and that they can expect better results for their patients. The more people who survive the initial onset of stroke, the more people we can help by evaluating their blood flow.

Q: What is the key to your company's success?

Now that we have the clinical results, the key to our success is to quickly increase our distribution capabilities to cope with increased demand. We hope to work with a major MR scanner manufacturer, such as GE, Hitachi, Philips, Siemens or Toshiba — to load our software onto their machines. Our goal is for NOVA studies to become the standard of care in evaluating stroke patients and those at risk for stroke.

Q: What book is on your nightstand?

I am still finishing “Flash Boys,” the Michael Lewis story of how traders were able to exploit inefficiencies in the early electronic financial markets. I guess I can't escape 25 years in the financial business.