Founders & Mentors
The people who built Floaid.

An industry-leading surgeon, a veteran business leader, and a biomedical scientist — the founding trio behind India’s first Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device.

Dr. K Balakrishnan
Dr. K Balakrishnan
MGM Hospital
  • Director of Heart and Lung Transplant at MGM Hospital
  • Performed the first LVAD and HVAD pump transplant in India
  • Holds the record for highest number of Heart and Lung transplants in Asia
Expert User  ·  Animal & Clinical Trials
Mr Purrshottam Bhaggeria
Mr Purrshottam Bhaggeria
Filatex India  ·  FICAC
  • Joint Managing Director at Filatex India Limited
  • Secretary General FICAC — World Federation of Consuls
Business Management & Industrial Collaborations
Shiv Gupta
Shiv Gupta
IIT Madras  ·  NTU Singapore
  • Biomedical Scientist — graduate of IIT Madras and NTU Singapore
  • Expertise in biomedical design, fabrication, system integration and program management
CEO  ·  Product Development
Advisory Board
World-Class Advisory Board:
A Foundation of Strategic Excellence.

A collective force of medical, engineering, and policy leaders — providing strategic direction across clinical validation, R&D, market access and regulatory compliance.

8+
Advisors
Diverse perspectives from global industry leaders
4
Countries
International reach informing global market strategy
4
Key Areas
Clinical, Engineering, Policy and Market focus
Dr. Shahid A. Merchant
Dr. Shahid A. Merchant
Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai

Provides essential real-world perspective on patient needs and surgical practices in high-acuity cardiac interventions.

Dr. B.K. Srinivasa Sastry
Dr. B.K. Srinivasa Sastry
Renova Century Hospital

Ensures clinical relevance and impactful hospital integration solutions, specialising in cardiovascular focus.

Dr. Prasad Patnaik B.S.V
Dr. Prasad Patnaik B.S.V
IIT Madras — Applied Mechanics

Validates structural integrity and mechanical performance of medical devices through advanced engineering insight.

Dr. Eswaran Subrahmanian
Dr. Eswaran Subrahmanian
Carnegie Mellon University

Bridges technical innovation with ethical public implementation and policy.

Dr. Jai Raman
Dr. Jai Raman
Cardiovascular Surgery

Renowned cardiovascular surgeon and global expert in medical device innovation and regulatory pathways.

Dr. Seraina Dual
Dr. Seraina Dual
Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Assistant Professor leading i-Heal Lab. Expert in cardiovascular device research and translational science.

Dr. Guruprasad Giridharan
Dr. Guruprasad Giridharan
NuPulse · Louisville

CTO of NuPulse. Ventricular assist device technology and bioengineering at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Venkat Keshav Chivukula
Dr. Venkat Keshav Chivukula
UT Health Science, Houston

Associate Professor. Expertise in cardiovascular fluid mechanics and medical device performance.

Key areas of advisory impact
01
Clinical Validation

Guidance on trial design, regulatory pathways, and patient safety protocols.

02
Cardiovascular R&D

Review of bioengineering concepts, fluid dynamics, and device mechanics.

03
Market Strategy

Insights into healthcare systems and market access in India, US and Australia.

04
Technology Roadmap

Advising on integration of advanced materials and computational tools.

05
Ethical & Public Policy

Ensuring compliance and responsible innovation in a sensitive sector.

Lead Team
Floaid’s Lead Team.

PhDs, post-docs and engineers from top institutions — each a specialist in a critical domain of cardiovascular device development.

01
Dr Gyanendra
Dr Gyanendra
Turbomachinery · IIT Madras

PhD and Post Doc in turbomachinery from IIT Madras. Expertise in design and simulation of pumps and turbines.

02
Dr Rishav Raj
Dr Rishav Raj
Fluid Mechanics · Coventry UK

PhD from Coventry UK. Specialisation in fluid mechanics with expertise in multiphase flow, visualisation and analysis.

03
Adithya Rathore
Adithya Rathore
CFD & Device Dev · IIT Kanpur

Multidisciplinary engineer with artificial heart product experience at IIT Kanpur — CFD simulations, experimental monitoring and patent analysis.

04
Mr Hashir
Mr Hashir
Embedded & Firmware

Expertise in BLDC motor drivers, IoT, embedded firmware and developing patient monitoring systems.

15+
Team members
Highly skilled manpower
3+
PhDs & Post Docs
From leading universities worldwide
Institutional Partners & Collaborators
IIT Madras MGM HealthcareCarnegie Mellon Karolinska Institute

Interested in joining Floaid?

We’re building the future of cardiac support. If you’re exceptional at what you do, we want to hear from you.