Who He Is
The Person in the Room
Practice
Carrell Clinic
Joined 2005. Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist. Arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery of the shoulder, elbow, and knee. Locations in Dallas and Frisco, TX. Named 2025 D Magazine Best Doctor in Dallas.
Notable Role
Former Dallas Mavericks Head Team Physician
Named 2023 NBA Team Physician of the Year. Also served as assistant team physician for SMU. Retired from both roles in 2025. Medical coverage for The Byron Nelson Classic since 2006, The Cotton Bowl, and professional rodeo, baseball, and hockey.
Personal Connection to Jason
SMU Fraternity Brother & Academic Scholar
Attended SMU on academic scholarship. Played varsity soccer. Graduated with Honors in Biomedical Engineering. Long-standing personal relationship with Jason. Trust is already established.
IP Entity
Suremka LLC
His holding company for all arthroscopic innovations IP. 100% owned by Daniel. No partners, no outside investors. 3304 Wentwood Drive, Dallas TX 75225.
IP Attorney
Zachary Hilton
Hilton IP Law, PLLC · 1202 Richardson Drive, Ste. 111, Richardson TX 75080 · 972-795-5550 · zach@hilton-ip.com
Education
SMU · UT Southwestern · University of Florida
B.S. Biomedical Engineering, SMU (academic scholarship, Honors). MD, UT Southwestern. Residency, University of Florida. Fellowships: Mayo Clinic (elbow), Kerlan-Jobe LA (shoulder/elbow/sports medicine), USC LA.
Hospital Privileges
Multiple Dallas Facilities
North Central Surgical Center (USPI/Baylor Scott & White) · Baylor Scott & White Sports Surgery Center at The Star, Frisco (USPI) · Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas · Baylor University Medical Center · Texas Institute of Surgery (Texas Health Resources / UT Southwestern)
Commercial Status
Active. Ready to Scale.
Manufacturing is running, inventory is in hand, insurance requirements are confirmed at $1M, and OR access is established at USPI surgery centers. Operations contact Whitt Israel is already engaged. The South Africa distributor is already ordering. This is not a standing-start situation.
Operations Contact
Whitt Israel
Assisting Daniel with operations. Received the initial cannula inventory of approximately 1,000 sterile units across three lengths. Key contact for supply chain and inventory coordination going forward.
What Daniel Actually Wants
Mailbox Money. In Perpetuity.
Daniel has said it directly. He is not a commercial operator and he knows it. What he wants is a team around him that turns his IP into recurring revenue while he continues practicing surgery. He has held on to these patents because he believes in them and because the right commercial setup never materialized. He sees LoxaNova as that setup.
He also has a bigger vision: a platform for surgeon entrepreneurs. A marketplace where surgeons who create great innovations can bring their IP, get it properly commercialized, and finally get paid what it is worth. He has watched colleagues get taken advantage of for decades. Acknowledge it. It matters to him deeply.
His Personality in the Room
How to Read Daniel
Daniel is a surgeon: analytical, precise, and skeptical of people who overpromise. He has had plenty of conversations with distributors, companies, and licensing attorneys that went nowhere. What moves him is competence, substance, and people who clearly understand what they are talking about.
He reached out to his patent attorney immediately after Jason's first text about the project. He takes IP ownership seriously and he is protective of what he has built. Treat his patents with respect.
He is also warm and collegial once trust is established. The SMU connection is real. Michael and Jay need to match that energy at peer level, not vendor level.
Commercial Intelligence · May 6, 2026
What Daniel Just Told Us
Daniel responded to pre-meeting questions with detail that changes the complexity of May 12 significantly. This is not a standing-start situation. Manufacturing is running, inventory exists, insurance is confirmed, OR access is already established, and there is an international distributor already ordering product. The conversation on May 12 is about how fast we move, not whether we can move.
✓ Manufacturing: Confirmed and Running
Injection molding: Shenzhen, China. Described as very good, cheap, and fast. Daniel owns the molds and had them built to be portable, so manufacturing can move to the US if that becomes strategically necessary.
Nitinol (nickel titanium alloy memory metal): Sourced domestically in the US. 10 to 12 week lead time. Daniel has ordered additional supply.
Elastomer: Manufactured in the US. A large quantity has been purchased. Goal is eventual automation using a unique vertical molding machine.
Prior domestic prototyping: Done with Quickparts (acquired Xcentric). Described as slow, expensive, and borderline incompetent. Shenzhen supplier is the clear preference going forward.
✓ Inventory: In Hand Now
Whitt Israel received the initial shipment. Current inventory breakdown:
1,000
Sterile · All Lengths
3,900+
Total Non-Sterile Units
✓ Insurance: Confirmed at $1M
Current facility requirement is $1 million in liability insurance, the level required at North Central Surgical Center and The Star. That is a manageable number for Stage 1, not the $10M manufacturer figure that was flagged as a worst-case scenario. Entity structure and insurance procurement should be resolved before the first commercial case.
✓ OR Access: Already Established
North Central Surgical Center: USPI facility, Tenet Healthcare. Partnership with Baylor Scott & White. This is Daniel's primary surgical center.
The Star, Frisco: Also USPI/Baylor Scott & White. Baylor Scott & White Sports Surgery Center. Stage 1 entry point number two.
Texas Institute of Surgery: Texas Health Resources / Presbyterian system / UT Southwestern. A surgeon there is already connected.
Both USPI centers are physician-friendly ASCs. No VAT committee process. These are the fastest Stage 1 entry points available and Daniel already operates there.
✓ International Distribution: Already Active
A distributor in South Africa is already ordering product. Daniel has not pushed distribution because he could not reliably supply it. That constraint is now resolved with the current inventory position. This is an existing commercial relationship, not a prospect, and it signals that international demand exists without any active selling effort.
USPI Network · Strategic Implication
USPI (United Surgical Partners International) is owned by Tenet Healthcare and operates surgery centers with hospital system partnerships nationally and internationally. Daniel's existing access to two USPI facilities is not just a local foothold. It is a potential template for national expansion. Understanding USPI's network structure and how LoxaNova can build on those relationships in new markets is worth mapping before Stage 2.
Suremka LLC · Full Patent Portfolio
13 Items Across 9 Patent Families
The portfolio is centered on surgical access and instrumentation, primarily cannula technology across three generations with US and European coverage. Every arthroscopic procedure requires a cannula. Daniel has been iterating and improving this core technology for over a decade.
| Patent / App No. |
Device |
Status |
Next Deadline |
| 8,777,902 | Retractable Cannula (Gen 1), US | Issued 2014 | Jul 15, 2026 · $3,528 ⚠ |
| 10,258,368 | Retractable Cannula (Gen 2), US | Issued 2019 | Oct 16, 2026 · $1,616 |
| EP15806528.4 | Retractable Cannula, UK, France, Germany | Issued 2020 | Jun 30, 2026 · ~$2,250 ⚠ |
| 10,342,577 | Surgical Devices and Methods | Issued 2019 | Jan 9, 2027 |
| 10,687,846 | Surgical Devices and Methods (Div.) | Issued 2020 | Dec 23, 2027 |
| 11,607,246 | Surgical Device Deployment Apparatuses | Issued 2023 | Sep 21, 2026 · $860 |
| 11,607,322 | Graft Compression System | Issued 2023 | Sep 21, 2026 · $860 |
| 12,427,039 | Graft Compression System (CIP, Newest) | Issued 2025 | Mar 30, 2029 |
| 11,627,985 | Surgical Devices & Deployment Apparatuses | Issued 2023 | Oct 18, 2026 · $860 |
| 18/355,936 | Surgical Devices & Deployment Apparatuses | Pending | Awaiting examiner action |
| 18/336,287 | Knotless Suture Shuttling & Anchoring System | Pending | Final office action, response imminent |
| 18/295,414 | Surgical Devices & Deployment Apparatuses | Pending | Awaiting examiner action |
| 19/252,607 | Surgical Devices & Deployment Apparatuses (Newest) | Pending | Filed Jun 2025, awaiting exam |
Urgent Deadlines · Action Required by Daniel
June 30, 2026: European patent maintenance fees ~$2,250. Zach Hilton needs Daniel's instructions by mid-June. Strong recommendation is to pay. UK, France, and Germany coverage adds meaningful acquisition value and the South Africa distribution relationship signals international demand already exists.
July 15, 2026: US Patent 8,777,902 final maintenance fee $3,528, non-extendable. Original 2014 cannula. The call needs to be made intentionally with LoxaNova team input on portfolio value before the deadline passes by default.
September 21, 2026: Two patents due simultaneously, $860 each.
October 2026: Two more fees, $1,616 and $860.
Commercial History & Context
What Has Already Happened
Daniel has had a number of discussions with companies and distributors interested in either licensing or distributing his IP. None went anywhere meaningful. No active deals, no existing licenses. The portfolio is clean. He has been selectively waiting for the right setup rather than taking the first offer that came along.
Daniel is an investor in ZuriMED, a surgical device company that Arthrex attempted to acquire at a lowball price. ZuriMED declined. Stryker is now likely buying at 4 to 5x the investment. Daniel retained equity in the spine applications. This matters because Daniel has direct experience watching Arthrex play hardball on acquisitions. He will not be surprised when we advise the same approach. Stryker should be our first serious acquirer conversation, with Arthrex used as competitive pressure.
Daniel has strong feelings about how surgeons get treated in the commercialization process. He pointed to a spine surgeon in California who won a billion-dollar judgment against Medtronic for IP theft. He also cited a San Antonio surgeon who designed the most successful rotator cuff anchor in the world and made $300 million in royalties from Arthrex, while Arthrex sells a billion dollars of those anchors every year. Daniel sees this disparity clearly and personally. LoxaNova's mission to change that dynamic is not just a business pitch to him. It is something he believes in.
For the Room on May 12
How to Engage Daniel Effectively
What lands with him
Substance over slides. Specific knowledge of his patents counts: know what the retractable cannula does, know what the graft compression system enables, know the clinical application. Peer-level conversation, not a vendor pitch. Acknowledge the surgeon entrepreneur vision. Show him the platform demo early. The moment he sees his patents in a live system changes the energy in the room.
New for May 12, the demo is heavier than originally planned. Michael will be showing a functional Softr engagement platform connected to LoxaNova's Snowflake environment, with real Medicare and CMS claims data already loaded and structured around arthroscopic procedure codes. That data is directly relevant to Daniel's patent portfolio. It is the same surgeon-targeting layer a med device company would use to position the cannula and graft compression families commercially. He is not looking at a scaffold. He is looking at the targeting infrastructure for his own IP.
What to avoid
Do not oversimplify his technology. Avoid the phrase "just a cannula." He is aware some people dismiss it that way and he knows they are wrong. Hold off on specific acquirer names, valuations, or exit timelines in this first meeting. Nothing needs to be signed or committed to. This is a relationship meeting. Trust is the output, not a term sheet.
The question to ask him
Once the platform demo is done, Jay has laid out the commercial engine, and Jason has opened the surgeon entrepreneur vision, ask Daniel what it would mean to him if the next surgeon with a great idea had a clear path to market from day one. Let him answer. That conversation is why LoxaNova exists.
New context for May 12: adjust the framing
Daniel's pre-meeting responses confirmed manufacturing is running, inventory is in hand, insurance is a known number, and OR access is already established. The meeting is no longer "here is our vision and why it could work." It is "here is the team that runs the commercial side, here is the platform, and here is how fast we can move together." Adjust the room energy accordingly. The question is speed and structure, not feasibility.
