Founding IP Partner · Dallas, TX
Dr. Daniel A. Worrel
Orthopedic surgeon, inventor, and the IP foundation of everything LoxaNova is being built around. Understand who he is, what he has built, and what he wants before you walk into the room on May 12.
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 — the highest recognition in professional basketball medicine. Also served as assistant team physician for SMU. Retired from both roles in 2025. Has provided 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 the Liberal Arts with a degree in Biomedical Engineering — the engineering and clinical foundation behind his patent portfolio. 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.
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 Medical School Dallas. Residency and General Surgery Internship, University of Florida. Traveling fellowships at Mayo Clinic (elbow — Dr. Bernard Morrey), Kerlan-Jobe Clinic LA (shoulder/elbow/sports medicine — Dr. Neal ElAttrache), and USC LA.
Board Certification & Affiliations
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Member: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Arthroscopy Association of North America, American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, Dallas County Medical Society, Southern Medical Association. Academic affiliation: University of Florida Department of Orthopaedics.
Hospital Privileges
Multiple Dallas Facilities
North Central Surgical Center · Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas · Baylor University Medical Center · Baylor Scott & White Sports Surgery Center at the Star
Commercial Status
Blank Slate — Ready to Move
No existing licenses. No active distribution deals. Revenue minimal by design. He has been building toward volume capability and is now ready.
What Daniel Actually Wants
Mailbox Money. In Perpetuity.
Daniel has said it directly. He is not a commercial operator and he knows it. He understands the concept and the potential but it is not what he does. What he wants is a team around him that turns his IP into recurring revenue — mailbox money — 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 he raised on the pre-meeting call — 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 described watching colleagues get taken advantage of for decades. This idea has been percolating for over a decade. Acknowledge it. It matters to him.
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. He is not going to be wowed by a pitch deck or a big vision statement alone. 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. That tells you two things — he takes IP ownership seriously and he is protective of what he has built. Treat his patents with respect. Do not oversimplify what they are or what they do.
He is also warm and collegial once trust is established. The SMU connection is real and it matters. Jason has already set the tone. Michael and Jay need to match that energy — peer level, not vendor level.
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. That is not a one-trick patent — that is a defensible family with depth.
| 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 them. UK, France, and Germany coverage adds meaningful acquisition value.
July 15, 2026 — US Patent 8,777,902 final maintenance fee $3,528, non-extendable. This is the original 2012 cannula. Zach has flagged it as potentially not worth maintaining given how the technology has evolved. This decision needs to be made intentionally — ideally with input from the LoxaNova team on its 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 of these went anywhere meaningful. He has not disclosed specifics but confirmed no active deals and no existing licenses. The portfolio is clean and available. 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 which he believes carry equal or greater value. This context matters for two reasons. First, Daniel has direct experience watching Arthrex play hardball on acquisitions — he will not be surprised when we advise the same. Second, Stryker is actively acquiring surgical device IP right now. They 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 has watched colleagues get taken advantage of — great ideas, no leverage, no commercial path, minimal returns. He referenced a spine surgeon in California who won a billion-dollar judgment against Medtronic for IP theft. He referenced 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 resonates with him at a deep level. That 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 — know what the hybrid 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 — it matters to him personally. Show him the platform demo early. The moment he sees his patents in a live system changes the energy in the room.
What to avoid
Do not oversimplify his technology. Do not use the phrase "just a cannula" — he is aware some people dismiss it that way and he knows they are wrong. Do not raise specific acquirer names, valuations, or exit timelines in this first meeting. Do not ask him to sign anything or commit to anything. This is a relationship meeting. Trust is the output, not a term sheet.
The question to ask him
After the platform demo, after Jay lays out the commercial engine, after Jason opens 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.
