Forum Program Snapshots - Fogarty
Name
Institution
Thomas J. Fogarty
Fogarty Engineering
Email
Photo
Biography
Thomas J. Fogarty is a specialist whose creative talents have impacted many diverse professional and entrepreneurial arenas. Dr. Fogarty
performs numerous cardiac and peripheral vascular surgeries, manages several medical device companies founded upon his product designs,
and also finds time to pursue his interest in oenology at the family owned and operated Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards.
Since beginning his entrepreneurial career at age 12 with his invention of the centrifugal clutch, Thomas Fogarty has acquired over 100 surgical
instrumentation patents for devices used in countless medical specialty applications.
He is best known for his invention of the "industry standard" Fogarty™ balloon embolectomy catheter, a simple device used to remove obstructive
blood clots. This device revolutionized vascular surgical treatment of limb threatening vascular disease and began a new era of less invasive
"endovascular" therapy for treating vascular pathology.
Concurrent with his work on catheter based devices, Dr. Fogarty, along with his biomedical design engineers at Fogarty Research developed a
number of balloon devices which are used in laparoscopic hernia repair and other laparoscopy-assisted cardiovascular procedures. Other
commercially successful medical products designed by Dr. Fogarty and his engineering group include a minimally invasive device for breast
cancer diagnosis and therapy, and also a self-expanding endograft used to treat critical aortic aneurysms via a minimally invasive technique.
Currently Dr. Fogarty's endeavors include efforts in the areas of obesity treatment, tumor therapy, cardiac surgery and other vascular and
cardiovascular therapies.
Dr. Fogarty lectures extensively to vascular surgical societies and entrepreneurial organizations worldwide, frequently being asked to present his
views on the future of surgical technology development.
Forum on Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Biomedical Engineering Education
Jan 17-18, 2003