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John Adler
Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University
John Adler is an experienced executive in the medical device field and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief and CEO of Cureus, a medical journal.14 He has a distinguished background in neurosurgery and medical innovation.
Professional Background
Medical Career:: John Adler is a Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery at Stanford University.3 His expertise in neurosurgery has been a significant part of his career.
Inventions:: He is renowned for inventing the CyberKnife, a non-invasive alternative to surgery for treating tumors.3
Current Role at Cureus
As the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Cureus, John Adler leads the Cureus Journal of Medical Science.4 Under his leadership, the journal has seen significant growth:
- In 2022, Cureus published over 12,300 articles.5
- Adler has set an ambitious personal goal for the journal to publish 1,000,000 articles per year.5
Education and Location
- Education: John Adler received his education from Harvard University.1
- Location: He is based in the Stanford area.1
Other Ventures
In addition to his role at Cureus, John Adler is also associated with Zap Surgical, another company he co-founded.6
John Adler's LinkedIn profile can be found under the username john-adler-1875b95, which corresponds to his professional achievements and current position at Cureus.12
Highlights
Dear Professor Leksell, It has been a few years (actually 37) since we shared office space and our last cup of coffee at the Karolinska, but I thought it was time to drop you this line and update you on what is happening at Elekta, your brainchild. For starters, look at the attached letter which Elekta management seems compelled to circulate among potential ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc. customers. Your legacy now argues that a willfully vague German patent that expires next year and was never reduced to practice, and has already been invalidated by US courts, should be the basis for keeping lifesaving technology out of doctors’ hands. While legally speaking individual elements of this letter are not “lies”, the implied message is totally fallacious.
Moreover, why would anyone possibly send such a letter to non-German European customers? Was someone at Elekta hoping to intimidate well-meaning customers who are merely trying to do best for patients? Is it possible the innovative Elekta that you founded has so lost that spirit that it can do little more than play legal games? A truism I subscribe to is that “those who forget how to innovate, are compelled to litigate.” Anyway, this patent litigation has cost millions, money I am sure we both agree would be much better spent expanding clinical applications and benefitting suffering patients.
I do want you to know Professor Leksell that I have never forgotten the firsthand lessons you taught me about patient-focused innovation, especially as it relates to #brainsurgery e.g. “When it comes to the brain, a tool can never be too refined.” In honor of your teachings, I have tried through ZAP Surgical Systems, Inc. to create ever more sophisticated and precise technologies, and in addition help to pioneer new clinical applications in #neuroscience, especially in your area of interest, functional brain disorders. Even if your old company Elekta has lost your spirit, I have not, and today Zap-X aspires every day to live up to your ideals for #neurosurgical #innovation. If by some chance you are reincarnated as modern-day #neurosurgeon, I am quite sure you would be using, and of course trying to improve upon, the Zap-X.
It’s been good chatting with you. By the way, do many patent trolls get to enter through the pearly gates?
Yours in innovation….John Adler
The AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) American Society for Radiation Oncology American Association of Physicists in Medicine #elekta #neurosurgery #medicaldevice
