Transforming MRI from art to science with AI - Vista AI

Our latest episode features Daniel Hawkins, CEO of Vista AI and a medical device veteran whose innovations have impacted over 500,000 patients. From helping set the specifications for the Da Vinci robot as employee #6 at Intuitive Surgical to founding Shockwave Medical, Daniel's career reads like a masterclass in healthcare innovation.

At Vista AI, Daniel is starting with a critical bottleneck in cardiovascular care: cardiac MRI access. Despite being the gold standard for advanced cardiac imaging, only ~400,000 cardiac MRIs are performed annually compared to 16 million echos, and patients wait 4 to 16 weeks for scans. Vista AI's breakthrough? Using AI to directly control MRI machines, reducing skill requirements and scan times by 26% while dramatically improving consistency. But cardiac is just the beginning: their five-year vision is automated MRI solutions for every anatomy.

Daniel shares the moment that drove him to Vista AI: discovering that 7 out of 10 patients diagnosed with severe mitral regurgitation via echo weren't confirmed by MRI, meaning unnecessary surgeries with real risks. He walks us through how Vista AI acts as a "co-pilot" for technologists, addressing the industry's staffing shortage while enabling community centers to offer advanced cardiac MRI capabilities.

We also explore his innovation philosophy: solve "painkillers" (fundamental structural problems), expect skepticism (50 VCs initially rejected Shockwave), and maintain obsessive conviction. His ambitious goal? Vista AI on 75 to 80% of all MRI magnets in the US within five years.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in diagnostic innovation, AI in medical imaging, or building healthcare companies that truly move the needle on patient access and outcomes.