Well, good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Atlanta and HRX 2024. It's an absolute pleasure to stand here before you, a diverse and talented group committed to implementing innovations in clinical practice. I think you can recognize that we're not just here to attend another conference. We're here to create something truly remarkable. Over the next three days, we'll dive into every aspect of the health innovation cycle from discovery to clinical implementation. Thank you, Sunit. You're so right. HRX isn't just another event on the calendar. It represents a key initiative for HRS and our strategic plan to drive innovation. HRX convenes the brightest and most forward-thinking minds in our field, clinicians, engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators. We come together to propel cardiovascular innovation. This is our third year for HRX, and HRX has grown both in size and in significance, leading to our collective mission to support the journey of innovation, to take ideas from being a spark to clinical implementation, and then maybe even one day to standard of care for our patients. We're here to navigate the complexities of regulatory approvals, to understand the nuances of clinical trials and clinical evidence generation, and to explore pathways to market adoption. We're here to ensure that the best ideas don't stay ideas, but become essential parts of advancing patient care and outcomes. And Jen, that mission is more important now than ever. Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. But with challenges come opportunities, like leveraging cutting-edge technology to innovate and create new and better paradigms for care delivery. We've created an environment that's designed to foster collaboration and creativity. This is the meeting where regulatory experts will meet clinicians. Researchers will meet potential investors, and researchers will hopefully find new collaborators. It's through these connections that we'll turn ideas into actions and outcomes. And speaking of these outcomes to meet, HRX is packed with lots of opportunities for active engagement. You'll see simultaneous sessions happening on these triangular stages. You'll have roundtable discussions over on the side, main tent speakers, abstract presentations that are going to be starting tomorrow, pitch competitions, a historic favorite for HRX, and of course, a vibrant expo hall featuring our innovation partners. So I encourage you, please go play. All of these are designed to provide us the tools and insights to move from the inspiration of an idea to the implementation. And HRX is about community. It's about building an ecosystem. We here share a passion for innovation, for pushing the envelope, for making a difference in the lives of our patients, and for leaving our field better than we found it. HRX is a place where ideas matter and contributions can have lasting impacts. Well, Jen, let's talk about the video that everyone's about to see. This isn't just a hype video. It's hopefully a big reminder of why we're here today and for the next couple of days. It's designed to evoke a sense of belonging, to inspire you, and to ignite the spark of motivation that brought us all here in the first place. Whether you're a veteran of HRX or this is your first time joining us, think about what you hope to achieve here. Let this video set the tone for what's to come and serve as a catalyst for your engagement and participation. HRX is more than a conference. It's a movement. It's a place where the future of cardiovascular medicine is being shaped in real time, and you play a pivotal role. So we encourage you, ask questions, challenge the status quo, take advantage of all of these brilliant minds that are in this room. Enjoy the energy, the innovation, and the sense of purpose that drives us here. We're incredibly excited for what you're about to see in the next three days, and we're honored that you're here to share in this experience with us. Enjoy the video. Welcome to HRX. Look around. HRX is intentionally unconventional. You are here in one convenient space with others, like you, who are here to explore innovation together. The innovators, the enablers, the implementers, the advisors, the optimizers. You are here to spark ideas, explore the possibilities, and turn your ideas into realities. You can't get to an impactful, exciting new frontier by taking the same path you've always taken. HRX is the place to chart new pathways, explore beyond the familiar, connect with people who share your commitment to a better way of doing things, and discovering diverse and unique perspectives. We've brought together the elements for you to create the experience that ignites your passion for innovation. The rest is up to you. At HRX, you are not the audience. You're an active participant on the stage. You are here to play an integral part in forging the future of our field. But you don't have to stick to a script. Improvise. Make the most of your time here, the people you encounter, and the ideas you discover. Innovation is not for the timid. Change is hard and comes with many challenges and setbacks. This room is filled with those of you who have taken the steps to be an innovator and those that have the ability and resources to shepherd innovations forward. Every connection you make, every question you ask, every conversation you have could be the one that makes a difference in bringing your vision to life. While the HRX experience offers compelling programming and curated conversations, it also provides something even more valuable. Time. Time to disconnect from your current thinking and open your mind to exploring new directions. At the very least, HRX will be a place to gather valuable information, connect with inspiring people and old friends, and challenge yourself to try new things. Or, at the very best, you will always remember HRX as the time and place where you first said to yourself, things just got real. So I hope you're ready to ignite innovation with us. If so, you are in the right place. Sunit and I have a couple of quick thank-yous because putting on HRX really does take a village. First, we want to start by thanking the entire production team. Demi Adedon-Suejo, Rin Deshert-Cooks, Hamid Ganbari, Janet Han, Adrienne Hernandez, Rod Passman, Julie Hsieh, and Jackie Shribati. We also want to thank our past HRX producers for laying the groundwork for this meeting and setting an incredibly high bar. Doctors Sana Al-Khatib, Jag Singh, and Mintu Tarakia. And thank you to the entire Board of Trustees at HRX. Thank you for believing in HRX. Thank you for believing that our society plays an integral role in propelling cardiovascular innovation. And thank you for making one of our three strategic pillars driving innovation. And of course, I want to thank our 20-plus strategic partners. HRX was intentionally designed to be unencumbered by ACE or CME requirements and restrictions so that we can have you standing with us shoulder to shoulder to propel cardiovascular innovation. Thank you to our partners for your incredible partnership. And of course, I want to thank HRS staff for their support in the planning and execution of HRX. Particularly, a special shout out to HRS's Chief Development and Innovation Officer Pam Magnani. Now, Pam is an HRX OG. She's been there since inception and early planning in 2021. Believe me when I say nobody is more dedicated to the success of HRX than Pam. So thank you, Pam. And of course, lastly, I thank every single one of you. Thank you for being a cardiovascular innovator. And thank you for being with us here in Atlanta this week. This event does not exist without you. Let's make HRX 2024 a landmark event in the advancement of cardiovascular medicine. Please welcome to the stage, Heart Rhythm Society President, Dr. Ken Ellenbogen and CEO Patricia Blake. Thank you and welcome. Excuse my voice here. First of all, thank you, Jen and Suneet, for raising the bar even higher. So thank you, folks. And we also thank all the partners who are in this room and who came here to have support for this really important event. Now, HRS is into innovation because innovation is in our DNA. That's how we got here. That's what drives us. One of our strategic pillars is to drive innovation and exploration. And that's what HRX is about. And I think you'll find out more about that over the next two and a half days. I think one of the amazing things about HRX is that there are an incredible, incredible number of super smart people here from all aspects of technology in the medical field. What makes this different is the implementation of technology to the patient's bedside. And we have the advantage of having researchers, clinicians, inventors all here today in this room able to rub elbows and talk about the path forward over the next year, the next five years, the next ten years. So we thank you all for coming. It's going to be a great opportunity to interact with really smart people who are looking at the next five, ten years of our future. Pat. Thank you. It is so great to be here. And it's so much fun to see these headsets again. I don't know about you. Those of you who are veterans of HRX, you'll remember many pictures and many times you look across the whole room and see green headsets and blue headsets and red headsets. That's because there's so much information that we're trying to share in a short period of time. So we're delighted that you're here. Obviously, this is driving innovation. There's many phases of innovation, as you know, and in the innovation circle, this is the pre-commercialization part. HRS, many of you know our annual meeting every spring. That's our commercialization piece. This is the beginning of that cycle. And so we're excited because we see many of you there, but we're glad to see you here because this is where it starts. And the nice thing about HRX is that you are who starts it. It's not someone else. It's you. So we're delighted that you're here. Obviously, the mission, the vision of HRS is to end death and suffering due to heart rhythm disorders, and that's why we're all in this room. So thank you for your dedication. Please enjoy. We can't get Dr. Ellenbogen to be without a tie, but we have said that you can be relaxed here. Enjoy yourself. Eat, drink, and be merry, and learn a lot, and innovate, and innovate, and innovate. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks, Pat. Please make sure you, as my mother would say, mingle. And again, thanks to Jen and Sunit for all your hard work. Thank you, Jen and Sunit. Thank you.

Cardiovascular Innovation

Health Innovation Cycle

Collaboration

Pitch Competitions

Patient Care