Our philosophy
Human intelligence, built by specialists.
We are not an AI company. We are a Medical Intelligence company that deploys technology that places specialist judgment where it is needed most, at the very start of the journey regardless of where it starts. Every pathway is authored and vetted by top level orthopedic and podiatric specialists. The AI layer is only utilized to make that knowledge faster to reach.
Specialists first
Clinical content is authored by leading orthopedic and podiatric specialists, then reviewed before it ever reaches a patient or provider.
The start matters most
We focus on the first phase of care, where the right question and the right context change the entire path that follows.
No black box
Reasoning is transparent and traceable to clinical patterns, so providers can trust what they see and act on it.
Who It's For
Built for Every Point of Care
FIRST-CONTACT PROVIDERS
Clinics receive a clear recommendation to continue conservative care or refer for further evaluation.
ORTHOPEDIC GROUPS
Incoming patients arrive with a chief complaint, mechanism, function, and a working diagnosis list, so the first visit starts at the decision, not the history.
IMAGING CENTERS
Clinical reasoning travels with the order itself: a working diagnosis list and pertinent context reach the radiologist with the study, not after it.
Supporting Better Care From the Start
Patient education and clinical decision-support tools are also part of the OrthoPoP platform, supporting providers and patients further along in the journey. Right now, our focus is making the first phase — intake and initial triage — work better for everyone involved.
The team
The specialists behind OrthoPoP.
OrthoPoP is led by a team of innovative visionaries, subject-matter-expert surgeons, and forward-thinking engineers who have spent their careers at the intersection of orthopedics and technology.
Douglas Blacklidge, DPM, FACFAS
Founder and CEO
A practicing podiatric surgeon in central Indiana and a longtime orthopedic device innovator. He holds multiple patents and has contributed to design teams for Stryker, Wright Medical, Paragon28, and Extremity Medical, and founded the Foot and Ankle group within American Health Network.
Adam Perler, DPM, FACFAS
Cofounder and VP of Technology
A fellowship trained foot and ankle surgeon focused on complex deformity correction, total ankle replacement, and 3D printed surgical reconstruction. A surgeon innovator, he has cofounded multiple medtech ventures including OrthoPop, SciMynd, and RedPoint Medical 3D, and holds multiple US and international patents.
Charles "Skeets" James, CPA, MBA
Cofounder, COO and CFO
A CPA and healthcare executive who served as CFO and part owner of RedPoint Medical and in leadership roles at Ascension Health TriMedx and General Motors. He earned his MBA from the University of Dayton and is an IBJ CFO of the Year honoree.
Dan Hessel
President of Business Development
A medical device leader recently retired from Terumo Medical, where he was Senior Manager of Corporate Strategy. He previously served as National Sales Director for TriMedx and in sales leadership at GE Medical Systems, after beginning his career as a biomedical technologist.
Subject-matter experts
More than 100 years of combined clinical experience.
To document over 400 orthopedic conditions, OrthoPop enlisted musculoskeletal professionals from across the specialties, and is guided by a board of advisers in physical and occupational therapy. That clinical knowledge is then crafted into an easy yet intuitive user interface by some of the world’s best team of software engineers.
Our Story
When a surgeon developer became the patient.
Dr. Adam Perler spent his career building tools to help clinicians reach the right diagnosis faster. Then a misread MRI, interpreted against his prior history, nearly missed a ruptured disc at L3.
OrthoPop’s innovative Regional Pain Module captured the symptom pattern, anterior thigh, medial knee, and quad weakness, that pointed exactly where the problem was. A targeted overread found it. He recovered. Without OrthoPop input, the subsequent damage from a delayed diagnosis would have led to permanent disability. This unexpected event fortified the vision of OrthoPop’s surgeon design team. Early diagnosis leads to better outcomes. Dr. Perler is proof of that.
One of the experts who built OrthoPop nearly fell through the exact gap it was designed to close.