About

At Attune Medical^®, we’re focused on three crucial pillars: clinical needs, the state of science, and, most importantly, patient safety. Our journey began with a vision to enhance temperature regulation with proactive esophageal cooling and targeted temperature management. We proudly pioneered the first and only FDA-cleared temperature regulation device for esophageal protection during cardiac ablation procedures- ensoETM^®.

What Sets Us Apart

EnsoETM is a groundbreaking approach to temperature management. This novel technology simplifies esophageal cooling and targeted temperature control with a user-friendly, closed-loop system. Designed for ease of use, it seamlessly integrates with existing heat exchangers, making it a go-to choice for medical professionals.

Mission

At Attune, our mission is to improve patient safety and outcomes while reducing costs through innovative products and solutions.

Vision

At Attune, we aspire to provide patient-centered solutions through targeted temperature management and proactive esophageal cooling.

Leadership Team

Jay Istvan

Chief Executive Officer

Jay Istvan, a long-time investor and advisor to Attune Medical, formally joined the company as CEO late in 2021. He focuses his efforts on helping the business to scale and coordinates discussions with strategic partners. Jay has spent his career in medical technology. Starting as an engineer in the Diagnostic Division of Abbott Laboratories, he has led the Midwest healthcare practices of both Bain and The Boston Consulting Group – focusing his personal practice on Medical Technology businesses. Most recently, Jay served for more than 5 years as the CEO of Suture Express where he helped grow the business and led a successful exit to a strategic investor in 2019. Jay has earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Electrical Engineering from Bradley University and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Erik Kulstad, MD, MS

Co-founder & CMO / Board Member

Erik Kulstad invented ensoETM and is a practicing emergency medicine physician. His first-hand experience with temperature management technologies inspired him to apply his background in chemical engineering to the design of the ensoETM, the first device to leverage the esophageal space for core warming and cooling and to found Advanced Cooling Therapy (now Attune Medical) in 2009. Erik was previously the Research Director at Advocate Christ Medical Center and currently serves as a physician in the Parkland Hospital Emergency Department and Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Kulstad has published over 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts, presents his research at numerous national and international meetings, and serves as peer reviewer for 12 medical journals. He was educated at the University of Maryland, the University of Houston, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Patrick Shanley, MS

Chief Operating Officer

Patrick Shanley joined Attune Medical in 2012 as our first full-time employee. Attracted to the fast-paced, cross-disciplinary work environment provided by a startup, Patrick Shanley serves as an engineer and quality/regulatory strategist. In this role, Patrick established and maintained an ISO 13485 and FDA 21 CFR Part 820 compliant quality system and has guided the ensoETM to regulatory clearance in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Mr. Shanley is now spearheading the research and development of Attune Medical’s next generation ensoETM disposables as well as a proprietary hardware device. Previously, Patrick worked in research and development for Reprise Medical Technology, an early stage medical device start-up. Patrick was educated at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign and Northwestern University.

Maria Gray, RN, MA, Ed.D

Chief Commercial Officer

Maria Gray found her dream job with Attune Medical in 2015. Maria combines her extensive experience in nursing practice and education to create effective and efficient training programs for clinical users. Maria’s vast knowledge of patient temperature management was fostered during her 7 years in education and management at Medivance Inc., where she directed the Clinical Education division and assisted during Bard Medical’s acquisition. Prior to her 12 years of clinical and management experience in the medical device industry, she practiced nursing in prestigious teaching hospitals across New York City, including Columbia Presbyterian, Sloan Kettering, Lenox Hill and New York Methodist. Maria’s corporate experience includes Hill-Rom, Clear Catheter Systems, BHR Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and NeurOptics. Maria was educated at Georgetown University and New York University; She recently completed her doctorate at Vanderbilt University.

Patrick Davis

Chief Financial Officer

Pat Davis joined the Attune Medical team in 2022. Pat most recently spent ten years as both the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of a privately held medical distributor. Pat also has extensive experience with Fortune 500 companies and a Big Four accounting firm. A strong financial and operational leader, his background includes a wide range of business functions, including senior management positions in finance, marketing, operations, product development and corporate strategy. Majoring in Accounting, Pat graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

Greg Taffet

Chief Information Officer

Greg joined Attune Medical in 2022 as the Chief information officer. He works with executive teams to provide strategic direction on scalability, digital transformation, technology, and security. Previously, Greg Taffet was CIO at U.S. Gas and Electric, Inc. (“USG&E”), a leading energy supplier, until it was acquired by Crius Energy after shepherding the company through multiple years of double-digit growth. Prior to USG&E, Mr. Taffet was the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for MxEnergy. Mr. Taffet also has extensive manufacturing experience from working at the Bodine Corporation in various capacities including Manager of Systems and Integration. As a founder of the Wellington Systems consulting firm, he gained significant experience in the financial, automotive, and banking industries. Mr. Taffet has over 30 years of technology, business, industry, and operational systems experience with an extensive background in mergers and acquisitions. Greg was educated at Franklin and Marshall College and Stevens Institute of Technology.

Ty Miller

Vice President for US Sales

Ty has a long history of award-winning commercial sales management experience with successful initiatives in gaining clinical acceptance and adoption of pioneering disruptive medical device technologies and procedures. He joined Attune after a 15 year career with Atricure, helping to establish the company’s innovative technology platform in the Electrophysiology and Cardiothoracic surgery arenas. Prior to Atricure, Ty was a part of the original Biosense Webster sales organization, involved in introducing the 3D mapping and navigation platform used for cardiac ablation procedures. Ty was educated at the University of Missouri.

Board of Directors

Igal Ladabaum, PhD

Executive Chair

Igal Ladabaum is a medical device entrepreneur and executive. Igal is the founding CEO of Hospi Corporation and serves Chairman of the Board of Attune Medical. He previously served as the General Manager of Sonova’s InSound Center of Competence, an innovations center for hearing aid technology. Igal led the engineering and clinical research team that brought the Lyric hearing aid to market, the world’s first totally invisible, extended wear, deep-in-the-canal hearing aid. Lyric’s success resulted in the acquisition of InSound Medical by Sonova in 2010 with total transaction proceeds of $200M. Igal has been an active angel investor and previously served on the boards of Radlogics and Ornim. Igal was also the co-founding CEO and CTO of Sensant Corporation, a company that introduced the first fundamental change in ultrasonic transduction in decades. Fueled by venture investors and support of government agencies including DARPA, the NSF, and the Navy’s ONR, Sensant was sold to Siemens in 2005, after which Igal led Siemens Ultrasound Engineering for 2 years and was a member of the Ultrasound division’s leadership circle. Igal was educated at U.C. Berkeley, Ecole Polytechnique, and Stanford.

Mark Ritz, MS, MBA

Mark Ritz a is seasoned executive and expert in business and strategic planning. Mark is an active participant in Michigan’s entrepreneurial community as an Angel investor, a member of the Michigan Angel Fund’s Screening Committee and a consultant to Ann Arbor Spark’s entrepreneurial services team. Previously, he concluded his 35-year automotive career as Vice President, Corporate Development for Lear Corporation, with responsibility for evaluating and executing corporate transactions. In that capacity, he served as a Director of 12 joint ventures, of which 9 were corporate start-ups. Mark was educated at the Harvard Business School, University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Purdue University.

Adam Robins

Adam Robins is the Executive Director of The PFG Group, LLC, a family office based in Chicago, and has a demonstrated history of success in the venture capital and private equity industry. Adam is also the Co-Founder & President of Dobson Avenue Capital Partners. He is a strong business development professional skilled in negotiation, business planning, entrepreneurship, and sales management. Adam is an experienced investor and advisor to founders and management teams serving as a member on several Fiduciary and Advisory Boards as well as a mentor and advisor to numerous startups. He began an 8-year career in commercial banking at the American National Bank of Chicago and is now currently serving as Chairman of the Board for Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream. Adam was educated at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and The University of South Florida.

Steven K. Braun, C.P.A.

Since 2008, Steve has been the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Brandmeyer Enterprises, a Leawood, Kansas-based private family office with investments in real estate, public securities, private equity, and venture companies. From 2006 to 2008, Steve was the Executive Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Enturia, Inc., a medical drug/device company which was sold to Cardinal Health in 2008. Prior to 2006, Steve was Divisional Chief Financial Officer and Global Vice President of Finance and Taxation for Black & Veatch. Prior to Black & Veatch, Steve was employed for 13 years both domestically and abroad in a series of financial positions of increasing complexity and responsibility, at global pharmaceutical company Aventis Pharma, Inc., culminating in his role as head of North America Finance & Taxation. Steve started his career with KPMG specializing in the field of taxation. Steve was educated at Kansas State University, Columbia University and Saint Louis University.