Dr. Arun Nagdev- Exo's Senior Director of Clinical Education

As Exo’s innovations continue to grow, so does our team. We’re honored to announce that Arun Nagdev, M.D., has joined Exo as the Senior Director of Clinical Education. Dr. Nagdev will lead our point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education efforts, which will drive handheld ultrasound’s inclusion in emergency rooms, clinics and health systems across the globe in an effort to expand affordable access to medical imaging.

We sat down with him to discuss his career path, his new role and his passion for POCUS.

Tell us a little about your background.

Early in my career, I was selected to be part of the Highland Hospital POCUS fellowship. When I applied for fellowships, there were maybe only 10 available throughout the country. I flew out to California and it was like I had walked into a different planet. To this day, I remember when one of the residents was using POCUS to do an echo in 2005 to look at a patient’s ejection fraction. I kept thinking "Who is this kid? What is he doing? We don't do that." I had no idea that this was even part and parcel of their practice.

I learned from all the residents how to use POCUS. I had no idea what I was doing because in my department, we didn't do it at all.

I remember finishing that year and my entire scope of practice had completely changed. And really, I credit that department for giving me an understanding of POCUS. It's such a storied place.

Then I took off to Brown to create the POCUS program and fellowship there.

My experience coming into Highland Hospital after realizing the vast capabilities of POCUS led to my passion about spreading that same knowledge with others in the medical industry. It also changed the way I practice, both diagnostically and procedurally.

Why did you want to join Exo?

It’s simple. Clinical education on how to use handheld ultrasound in diagnosing, treating and improving medical procedures is key to the rapid deployment and adoption of POCUS.

The immediacy and portability of POCUS gives clinicians a versatile tool they can keep in their pocket to speed up and improve diagnoses, treatment and overall patient care.

My goal is to educate as many providers as possible on how easy it is to use POCUS — the devices are intuitive, inexpensive, readily available and you don't have to go through 50 new learning algorithms to figure it out.

That’s what I hope to accomplish at Exo. And to top it off, Exo’s leadership is outstanding. I’m excited to be a part of this incredible organization.

In your experience, what are some of the key benefits of handheld ultrasound devices?

The versatility of handheld ultrasound devices makes them essential in many scenarios. I strongly believe that emergency medicine needs to incorporate these devices. In time-sensitive situations, physicians are able to immediately see a patient’s vital organ status for a faster, on-the-spot diagnosis. POCUS enables providers to acquire this information in a modern way, without relying on a stethoscope or other testing, such as radiology.

I’ve personally seen great success from POCUS. About a year ago, my 96-year-old grandmother fell and broke her ribs. She had three anterior rib fractures, she's Indian and doesn't speak English. We did not want her in the hospital — we didn’t want to expose her to potential harms such as an infection or a fall. Because of POCUS, we were able to do an ultrasound-guided nerve block on her ribs, and she went home that day. Four hours later, she was feeling better.

Handheld ultrasound devices have endless potential to improve and advance patient care.

For a majority of your career, thought leadership has been at the forefront. How does that vision tie into what you hope to achieve at Exo?

POCUS should be accessible everywhere in the world. My goal is to provide education to medical professionals for further adoption, so we can all provide better patient care.

My hope is that I’m able to reach everyone, not just emergency physicians, but every type of physician, to help them understand the difference they could make using this modality.