New Tech Tonics Podcast: Matthew Stoudt – Real Empathy in a Virtual World

He’s one of those tech people that came to healthcare to find a career of significance, but Matthew Stoudt has actually been destined for the health tech world since his youth.

Matthew Stoudt aspired to be a lawyer, then a senator, before he realized he was an entrepreneur at heart.  A foundational experience of losing a beloved and accomplished father taught him that he should never waver in pursuing his dreams; that has been his guiding principle since early in his career.  He has had highs and lows along the way and has had many interesting work experiences (innovation team of McDonalds, founder of Outcast Media), but has always kept a focus on what his dad taught him about curiosity and the importance of an expansive view of the world.  This helped him further his quest to visit every country on earth, as well as amass a combination of entrepreneurial skills and a personal commitment to empathy which have become the perfect recipe to bridge the tech and medical worlds.  After a successful exit of Outcast Media to Verifone (we can all thank Matthew for those broadcast flatscreens screens at gas pumps), Matthew realized his next job was meant to involve a more meaningful way of helping people.  That, and a chance airplane encounter, led to the founding of AppliedVR with colleagues Josh and David Sackman.

Applied VR’s CEO, a company that uses virtual and augmented reality technologies to reduce the pain and suffering of patients, Matthew has tapped into an emerging market opportunity to apply this frontier gaming technology to making a meaningful difference for patients with challenges that are rarely addressed through traditional means.  Importantly, the company has applied serious clinical rigor to this effort, building a strong base of clinical evidence for the efficacy of AppliedVR’s approach that has led to adoption of the company’s products at nearly 200 hospitals, building the foundation for a virtual reality “formulary.”  And yet, when you speak with Matthew, it’s always about the patients.  He cites THIS as one of the many examples of why and how therapeutic VR can improve outcomes for real people:

We welcome Matthew to Tech Tonics and are delighted to have him on the show.

To listen to the show, please click on the arrow to the left or find it on the Connected Social Media website or on iTunes.

We are grateful to GE Ventures for sponsorship of today’s episode.  GE Ventures:  Multiple Paths to Big Impact.