Centerline Biomedical is a Cleveland Clinic spinoff company commercializing the Intra-Operative Positioning System (IOPS™) technology — an innovative, non-x-ray based 3D GPS-like surgical navigation technology that improves endovascular procedure outcomes and reduces radiation exposure.
The idea to create the first and only 3D visualization and real-time navigation system that allows physicians to perform optimal, radiation-free image-guided endovascular surgery developed when Vikash Goel, current Chief Technology Officer at Centerline Biomedical, and Karl West, Director of Medical Devices Solutions at Cleveland Clinic Learner Research Institute, set out to fulfill their mentor Dr. Roy K. Greenberg’s vision of advancing endovascular surgery. After years of hard work and dedication by vascular physicians and researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, IOPS was born, with a working prototype and first-in-man data.
Today, Centerline Biomedical continues to lead the commercialization process of IOPS to help improve endovascular procedure outcomes, decrease healthcare costs, and reduce radiation exposure for patients and healthcare professionals.
Our Team
As the science behind vascular surgery continues to grow, our team has been able to grow along with it. More importantly, our group has helped shape and define what innovations in endovascular procedures will look like in the future. We credit our strength and endurance to a consistent approach to managing our business and to the character of our leadership.
Board of Directors
As CEO and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Gupta brings more than 40 years of technical, managerial, and leadership experience to Centerline Biomedical. He founded EER Systems, which specializes in scientific systems development for various federal agencies and the military, and pioneering commercial space launches with NASA, attaining revenues of $150 million with some 1,500 employees in 2000. Recently, he has retired as Group President of L-3 Communications Government Services Group. Currently he is an active investor in several entities globally, including startups. Dr. Gupta received his Bachelor's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Master's from Queens University, Canada, Ph.D. from Purdue University, and MSA from George Washington University.
Dr. Goel is a former World Bank official and global expert on innovation and competitiveness who brings 40 years of international experience in R&D, technology commercialization, and private sector development to his roles of President, CFO and member of the Board of Directors for Centerline Biomedical. He is one of the pioneers of Inclusive Innovation, a concept gaining currency as a means of expanding the benefits of technology to a wider global audience. He has led the design and implementation of numerous complex development projects with budgets of up to $500 million. Dr. Goel is also a senior consultant at World Bank (previously Chief of Financial Management), and founder of Lagom Group, an international advisory firm. He holds MBA with distinction and Ph.D. from Cornell University, and a Masters from NDRI, India.
Jim Zalar is General Manager, Business Solutions at Cleveland Clinic Innovations and brings 20+ years of experience in healthcare operations and consulting as well as monetizing workflows, trade secrets and non-IP protectable solutions. Previously, he was Institute Administrator at Cleveland Clinic. Currently he focuses on working with outside entities on Business Engineering services including identifying early-stage organizations and helping address their needs from incubation to early commercial operations period. Jim received BS and BA in Finance from John Carroll University and MBA from Cleveland State University and has his Series 6 and 63 securities license.
As CEO of Centerline Biomedical, Mr. Rackliffe brings more than 20 years of healthcare experience and executive management, spanning both medical device and pharmaceuticals industries, across both public and private sectors. He has successfully led start-ups, as well as company divisions with over $2 billion in annual revenue.
As a growth catalyst, he has successfully launched more than 25 global life science products focusing on the needs of the patient and those that surround the patient/care environment. In addition, he has led and closed multiple global business development deals to drive synergies and growth. He believes that nothing is achieved without a strong team culture and takes pride in building teams that are both highly diverse and value inclusion.
Mr. Rackliffe received his MBA with high distinction from Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh and a duel major BS from Marquette University.
Joseph T. Rich brings 10+ years of technology commercialization experience. He is on the Centerline Biomedical Board of Directors, and is the Director of Portfolio Company, Grant and Governance at Cleveland Clinic Innovations (CCI); responsible for new venture development and growth, and managing relationships between the boards and executive teams of CCI and the $60 million Ohio BioValidation Funds early stage investment program. He has extensive business development expertise in organization and start-up of numerous successful companies and has been on the board or a Corporate Officer for over 15 early-stage companies. Mr. Rich received BS from John Carroll University, and MBA, along with JD from University of Akron.
Leadership Team
As CEO of Centerline Biomedical, Mr. Rackliffe brings more than 20 years of healthcare experience and executive management, spanning both medical device and pharmaceuticals industries, across both public and private sectors. He has successfully led start-ups, as well as company divisions with over $2 billion in annual revenue.
As a growth catalyst, he has successfully launched more than 25 global life science products focusing on the needs of the patient and those that surround the patient/care environment. In addition, he has led and closed multiple global business development deals to drive synergies and growth. He believes that nothing is achieved without a strong team culture and takes pride in building teams that are both highly diverse and value inclusion.
Mr. Rackliffe received his MBA with high distinction from Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh and a duel major BS from Marquette University.
Vikash Goel brings more than ten years of experience innovating and developing imaging, visualization, and analysis systems for use in vascular surgery, as well as experience in medical device software and hardware design and development and holds several patents. He has worked closely with surgeons and developed a keen understanding of the clinical challenges and unmet needs present both in the operating room and in the clinic. He is experienced in application development and pioneering software and technologies. As CTO of Centerline Biomedical and inventor of its technology, he utilized image processing and modeling techniques to develop and design software across several platforms and develop the systems and instrumentation hardware making up the computing platform for Centerline’s technology. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, magna cum laude, from Cornell University's College of Engineering and a Master’s degree from Cornell’s Program of Computer Graphics.
Dr. Goel is a former World Bank official and global expert on innovation and competitiveness who brings 40 years of international experience in R&D, technology commercialization, and private sector development to his role of President, CFO and member of the Board of Directors for Centerline Biomedical. He is one of the pioneers of Inclusive Innovation, a concept gaining currency as a means of expanding the benefits of technology to a wider global audience. He has led the design and implementation of numerous complex development projects with budgets of up to $500 million. Dr. Goel is also a senior consultant at World Bank (previously Chief of Financial Management), and founder of Lagom Group, an international advisory firm. He holds MBA with distinction and Ph.D. from Cornell University, and a Masters from NDRI, India.
Advisory Team
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Eagleton is the Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Vascular and Endovascular surgery. An international expert and thought leader on minimally invasive vascular aortic surgery, he also serves as co-director of both the Fireman Vascular Center and the Thoracic Aorta Center at Massachusetts General. Additionally, he is the Program Committee Chair for the prestigious Society for Vascular Surgery. Dr. Eagleton's specialty and passion is endograft therapy for complex aortic disease. He has an extensive experience in basic, translational, and clinical research programs and has been the principal investigator on a several research trials evaluating innovative endovascular therapies for aortic disease. Dr. Eagleton was formerly the Vascular Surgery Director of the Cleveland Clinic Aorta Center. He received his bachelor's degree and medical degree from the University of Rochester, his general surgical training from the University of Rochester Medical Center, and his training in vascular surgery from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Mark Farber is the Director of the University of North Carolina's (UNC) Aortic Disease Management and Endovascular Clinic. He is also the Program Director of Vascular Surgery Fellowship at UNC School of Medicine. He is an international expert on minimally invasive vascular aortic surgery and has been the Principal Investigator on multiple clinical research trials. Dr. Farber holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and an MD from Tulane University School of Medicine.
Dr. Parodi is an accomplished vascular surgeon at the UNC hospitals, previously at the Cleveland Clinic Miller Heart and Vascular Institute, with specialization in aortic aneurysms, endovascular surgery, peripheral artery disease, and carotid artery disease. A member of the Peripheral Vascular Surgery Society, Dr. Parodi has published many papers and textbook chapters about vascular surgery in several medical journals, covering topics ranging from medical management of aneurysmal disease to complex and novel endovascular techniques. Dr. Parodi earned his medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He underwent post-doctoral training as an aortic surgical fellow at Cleveland Clinic. After the conclusion of his fellowship in 2013, he was appointed to the Cleveland Clinic medical staff in the Department of Vascular Surgery, where he continues to pursue innovative research to provide the best possible care in the era of modern endovascular therapies.
Rishi Puri, MD, PhD, FRACP, is a coronary and structural interventional cardiologist practicing at Cleveland Clinic, specializing in these minimally-invasive treatments for diseased heart valves, coronary artery disease, and congenital heart disease. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic to expand the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program, he trained and practiced at other global centers of excellence for innovative transcatheter structural heart therapies, including Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Rennes University Hospital in France, and the Zurich University Hospital. An expert clinician and an accomplished researcher, he has treated thousands of patients and published hundreds of peer-reviewed manuscripts spanning topics such as vascular structure and function, atherosclerosis progression-regression, novel anti-atherosclerotic compounds, valvular heart disease, and medical device innovation. In addition to his primary appointment at Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Puri serves as Medical Director for the Atherosclerosis Imaging Core Laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic Coordinating Center for Clinical Research, as Associate Professor at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia.

Business Advisory Council
Dr. Goel is a former World Bank official and global expert on innovation and competitiveness who brings 40 years of international experience in R&D, technology commercialization, and private sector development to his role of President, CFO and member of the Board of Directors for Centerline Biomedical. He is one of the pioneers of Inclusive Innovation, a concept gaining currency as a means of expanding the benefits of technology to a wider global audience. He has led the design and implementation of numerous complex development projects with budgets of up to $500 million. Dr. Goel is also a senior consultant at World Bank (previously Chief of Financial Management), and founder of Lagom Group, an international advisory firm. He holds MBA with distinction and Ph.D. from Cornell University, and a Masters from NDRI, India.
Dr. Ramesh Mashelkar is the National Research Professor, and President of the Global Research Alliance, a network of publicly funded R&D institutes in Asia, Europe, and the United States with over 60,000 scientists. He is the former Director General of Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, overseeing 38 national R&D labs and 5,000 scientists. He was the Chancellor of the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research. Dr. Mashelkar is also one of the pioneers of the Inclusive Innovation, a concept getting highly popular in emerging economies. He is on the Boards of several leading Indian corporations and top higher education institutions, and the chairman of multiple life science, biotech, and VC companies. He has received 38 honorary doctorates, including those from the University of Wisconsin and University of London. Dr. Mashelkar received his Master's and PhD from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, India.

Dr Miloš Matković is a Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at the Clinical Center of Serbia, University of Belgrade. He finished a part of his residency in cardiac surgery at Faculty of Medicine Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France as well as the fellowship in Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, focusing on mitral valve reconstruction and aortic surgery. He is also an active member of the European Association of Cardiothoracic surgery and holding specialist equivalence degree in cardiothroacic surgery from the Ministry of Health in Paris, France. Dr. Matković's professional experiences range from telemedicine to aortic surgery. His professional interests include valvular reconstruction surgery, aortic surgery, heart transplantation, minimally invasive surgery, Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, mechanical circulatory support, and is active in research and publications. He brings his wealth of experience in cardiovascular and minimally invasive surgery to Centerline. He holds his Masters of Science in Surgical anatomy of congenital heart defects and is also pursuing his PhD studies in reconstructive medicine at the University of Belgrade.

Our Team
Matthew Holladay has more than 15 years of experience designing and implementing image analysis software and DICOM services for SPECT, PET, CT, and Ultrasound systems, primarily focused on cardiac image analysis. Before joining Centerline, he served as Lead Architect and Senior Software Engineer at INVIA Medical Imaging Solutions for more than 10 years, where he was responsible for high-level design, design reviews, and technology recommendations. He designed, implemented, and maintained features for INVIA's 4DM product for analysis of the Left Ventricle. Throughout his career, Matthew has turned ideas into real products through all phases of the software development life cycle. He is known for implementing and optimizing complex algorithms and user interface components (especially in medical imaging devices), augmenting existing products using new technologies, problem solving, and working to advance the skills of the entire team. Matthew holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.


Mr. Vickers brings more than 30 years of experience innovating, developing and bringing medical imaging products to market. His expertise ranges from developing MRI software to designing CT X-ray detectors to systems engineering for SPECT systems. A specialist in full systems integration in compliance with FDA design control requirements and ISO standards for medical device quality and risk management, Mr. Vickers has extensive experience managing system requirements, system design specifications, system integration test plans, and product risk assessment, essential aspects of preparing and managing regulatory submission and clearance for medical devices. Prior to joining Centerline, Mr. Vickers served as a Systems Engineer in Philips Healthcare's Advanced Molecular Imaging division managing system integration. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from John Carroll University.
Craig Hudson brings over 30 years of diverse experience in medical systems engineering, engineering management, software development, and cybersecurity. A Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist (CNMT), he has extensive experience with many facets of medical imaging and nuclear medicine. Previously, at Philips Healthcare, he attained the level of Senior Staff Software Architect for Nuclear Medicine Imaging systems before transitioning to serve as Senior Engineering Manager of Product Lifecycle Engineering in the SPECT division. During that timeframe he was also a founding member of the global multi-modality Product Security Leadership Council. Additionally, Mr. Hudson was a Senior Technical Program Manager, managing work between domestic and overseas development teams. Most recently Mr. Hudson served as a Systems Engineer in Philips’ CT/Advanced Molecular Imaging Clinical Science unit, focusing on advanced visualization application definition and risk management. He holds patents for his innovations in medical imaging and software. Mr. Hudson holds a BS degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Administration from Ashford University.

Mr. Johnson is a nearly 30-year veteran of medical device R&D and product development. Having begun his career designing infusion pumps with start-up Deltec Systems, he eventually led the entire diabetes division, bringing in revenues exceeding $40 million in the first year, and navigated mergers and acquisitions by Smiths Industries and Pharmacia. Mr. Johnson moved on to serve as Vice President of R&D for Data Sciences International, establishing a strategy that resulted in rapid and predictable delivery of new products to the market, notably an implantable ECG monitoring platform. Most recently, Mr. Johnson built and managed R&D teams as Vice President of R&D for SuperDimension (acquired by Covidien in 2012 for $350 million and now owned by Medtronic), commercializing a novel electromagnetic navigation platform to diagnose and treat early-stage lung cancer. Mr. Johnson has extensive leadership and engineering experience in the launch of over 30 medical devices with worldwide distribution and holds numerous patents. Having achieved tremendous success in these launches, he continues to pursue his passion for improving the world through medical innovation. He is involved in multiple medical device startups and strongly connected in the medical device industry. He has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Stephen Opalanko has over 20 years of experience in software engineering, with special expertise working in highly-regulated fields with little tolerance for failure. He has designed and developed applications in a diverse range of industries, including aerospace, defense, precision measurement, and industrial controls. Mr. Opalanko has successfully leveraged advanced technologies such as image processing, artificial intelligence, and neural networks to implement innovative software solutions for complex tasks such as flight data analysis, hospital radiation measurement, and sonar tracking. Before joining Centerline he led verification and validation efforts for government customers in the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy. He holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor's Degree in Physics from Southern Connecticut State University.
Saadedine El-Homsi brings Quality and Design Engineering experience spanning the fields of food processing and medical devices, coupled with a deep passion for technical work and problem-solving. At Bettcher Industries, he designed and developed numerous fixtures to aid in food processing product manufacturing and assembly. Previously, he worked at Invacare Corporation, performing expanded technical evaluations of portable oxygen concentrators and other devices, identifying and investigating issues and their root causes, and preparing documents required for Quality processes. As a graduate student at the University of Rochester’s Center for Medical Technology and Innovation (CMTI) he worked with surgeons to design and develop an innovative ball tip probe to reduce complication rates during posterior spinal fusion procedures while meeting clinical, cost, and user needs. He holds a Bachelor’s degree as well as a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester.
Rafael Bonilla brings 20 years of progressive experience in Quality and Regulatory affairs. Originally launching his career in assembly at the Ford Motor Company, he quickly developed a passion for quality management and safety. After developing experience supporting and implementing quality management systems in the automotive industry, he transitioned to work in healthcare and has since become experienced in working in both small and large corporations, bringing expertise spanning Design Controls, Corrective Actions, Management Review, Complaints, Audits, Production and Process Controls and Supplier Controls. He has worked with regulatory authorities in the United States as well as Europe, within regulations such as FDA Quality System Regulations (21 CFR Part 820), MDD CE, and CMDCAS to ensure product compliance. He has also successfully registered new products with MDD CE and CMDCAS. Mr. Bonilla holds an MBA and Applied Management degree from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Ana Kuoman brings expertise bridging the fields of biochemistry, physiology, economics, and business administration. Prior to focusing on healthcare, she worked in the biotech industry as a biochemist and analytical chemist spanning the areas of nutraceuticals and biofuels. In 2018 she completed an internship as Project Portfolio Manager at Sage Therapeutics, gaining exposure to clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as vital areas of regulatory affairs, health economics, and medical affairs. Beginning in the fall of 2018, Ms. Kuoman accepted a role as an associate with BioEnterprise in Cleveland, Ohio, working with investors and several start-up companies in identifying business, regulatory, and research strategies to bring medical innovations to life. During her time at BioEnterprise, she focused on the business developmental plans of market trends, value propositions, and competitive analysis of start-up companies, working closely with management to implement rapid development and growth strategies. Ms. Kuoman holds Bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and Spanish from Allegheny College, an MS in Medical Physiology and Biophysics from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, as well as an MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management.
Katelyn Rowe is a graduate from the University of Mount Union with a Bachelor’s Degree in Healthcare Management and Marketing. Her previous experiences with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Alliance Community Hospital have focused on customer relations, marketing and administration where she has been involved in creating marketing materials, website content development, and departmental administrative duties. She uses these skills to contribute to Centerline Biomedical as the Public Relations and Administrative Officer.