Matt Austin, Founder & Director

Matt brings over a decade of experience in the medical device industry. Matt's journey began when he joined Xiros, a UK-based medical manufacturing company that supplies textile-based implants for the sports medicine and orthopaedic markets. Starting as a production operative, Matt gained firsthand experience in manufacturing the ECL (Endobutton Continuous Loop), a soft tissue fixation device for a market-leading orthopaedic company. After a few years on the production floor, Matt transitioned into product testing, where he worked as a product development Test Lab Technician for several years. This sparked his interest in contributing to surgeons' product experience and clinical outcomes; therefore, Matt eventually progressed into a territory sales manager role for Xiros' Neoligaments portfolio.

In 2020, Matt founded and launched MySuture, a suture simulation kit, and virtual learning platform for medical students to learn how to suture. MySuture has helped medical students learn how to hone their suturing skills all over the world.

In 2021, Matt's journey continued as he joined Anika UK as an Area Sales Manager following their acquisition of Arthrosurface and Parcus Medical. Anika is a global joint preservation company that creates and delivers meaningful advancements in early intervention orthopedic care. Matt was part of the initial UK team hired to help launch the company into the UK market. During his time at Anika, Matt led strategic initiatives involving the setup of procedure sets for specific operations to simplify surgical procedures and enhance efficiency. He also created and launched the 'Case Spotlight' platform which captured UK-specific surgical techniques and case report information with surgeon product users and developed surgical technique videos with UK key opinion leaders.

In 2024, Matt founded Lateral Thinking Ortho (LTO).

LTO work closely with medical device companies to promote their products across specific regions in the UK. Our selection process for partners focuses on companies whose products complement our existing portfolio, fostering a synergistic relationship. We exclusively partner with those who share our values, ensuring optimal service for our customers.

Our Product development program, known as Think Tank, forges close partnerships with medical device manufacturers and surgeons to propel the advancement of their product capabilities and ideas. By expanding techniques within their respective indications, this initiative strives to enhance surgical options, ultimately elevating surgical procedures and outcomes.

We involve product development, regulatory, intellectual property, and marketing teams. Through this comprehensive involvement, we meticulously assess and nurture surgeons' ideas, guiding them towards becoming fully realised commercial products.