This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Michael Whitman '82
Led by Michael Whitman ’82, Micro Interventional Devices (MID) is pioneering technologies for treating structural heart disease. Through its innovations, the company is reducing operating times and simplifying complex surgical procedures.
Launched in September 2010, MID, New Hope, Pa., designs, develops, and commercializes proprietary technologies for use in percutaneous and minimally invasive heart repair procedures. MID’s patent-pending, proprietary technology is the result of a breakthrough in soft tissue anchoring and associated delivery devices. Wounds are closed by a combination of absorbable soft tissue anchors with advanced biocompatible elastomers, ultra thin bovine pericardium, and sutures. This approach reduces a patient’s time on the table and could result in a switch from surgical to catheter lab procedures. The company’s initial product, Permaseal™, is designed to create an access site for structural heart repair procedures, such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation, and enables a spontaneous closure upon removal of the device.
Throughout his career, Whitman, an economics and business graduate, has scored big with entrepreneurial ventures in the medical field. After working in high-level sales positions for Johnson & Johnson and other companies, he partnered with his wife, Linda Tedori Whitman ’83, a metallurgical engineer and materials specialist, and six other alumni on the creation of Power Medical Interventions in 2000. The company pioneered the first computer-mediated surgical stapling device, which helps patients worldwide recover more quickly and less painfully. In July 2009, they sold Power Medical Interventions to Covidien, and launched MID with Whitman as president and CEO and Linda as head of facility design and planning.
Whitman recently revisited his collegiate basketball experience and talked business with Express-Times sportswriter Tom Hinkel. His career spanned the coaching tenures of Dr. Roy Chipman and Will Rackley and taught him life skills, which have been invaluable to his successful career. “Participating in a team sport at the Division 1 level at Lafayette required perseverance, dedication, commitment, discipline and good communication skills,” says Whitman. “One has to be able to work well with others and to know when to lead and when to follow. The same is true in business. The attributes for success in sports or business are so similar that it amazes me as to what can be accomplished by applying these time-tested principles.”
Read more about Whitman’s fondest basketball memories and his career in Hinkel’s post.
Since graduation, the Whitmans have continued to be involved with the College. They co-chair the Fleck Consistent Giving Society, which includes alumni who have made gifts to the College for five or more consecutive years, and are members of Marquis Parents Council. Whitman has given classroom presentations and offered internships for many students, including Scott Gordon ’12, Bridget Hentz ’12, Chris Whitman ’12, and Andrew Wilson ’12, who are interning with the firm this summer. The Whitmans have four children—daughter, Katherine ’11, MID’s marketing communications manager, Christopher ’12, Jonathan, and Jessica.