Perhaps the question most often posed by entrepreneurs and start-up company executives is, "What are device investors looking for these days?" At Windhover's recent IN3 West conference, industry leaders provided several different perspectives on that question. In this article, we excerpt portions of a discussion that featured two prominent organizations with long-term commitments to medical device investing, but which operate from different points on the investor spectrum: Medtronic Inc. and the Carlyle Group.

Perhaps the question most often posed by entrepreneurs and start-up company executives is, "What are device investors looking for these days?" At Windhover's recent IN3 West conference, industry leaders provided several different perspectives on that question. In this article, we excerpt portions of a discussion that featured two prominent organizations with long-term commitments to medical device investing, but which operate from different points on the investor spectrum: Medtronic Inc. and the Carlyle Group.

Modeled after advanced computers used in industrial applications, such as automotives, Proteus Biomedical hopes to bring what it calls pervasive computing to treat chronic conditions such as chronic heart failure and, later on, others. The company's approach combines device and drug therapy in an innovative kind of combination products; in the process, says Proteus, it will define not just a new category of medical products but also shape a new competitive landscape.