Accelerating Trustworthy Tech For MedTech w. Ryan Torvik

Description

What happens when a firmware bug brings a ventilator offline during a pandemic? For Ryan Torvik, it raised a question: Why are embedded medical systems still so fragile, and so hard to test?

In this episode of Inside MedTech Innovation, host Shannon Lantzy talks with Ryan Torvik, founder of Tulip Tree Tech and a former offensive cybersecurity engineer, about how decades-old assumptions about embedded software are colliding with modern needs for safety, speed, and resilience. With funding from ARPA-H, Ryan is now building Barnhill, an emulation framework that lets manufacturers test firmware in a virtual environment before it ever hits the device.

Together, they explore how digital twins, DevSecOps, and real-time behavioral testing can radically improve embedded medical systems, without breaking them in the process. Plus: what MedTech needs to learn from the automotive and defense industries, and why debugging a glucose monitor might have more in common with securing a microwave than you think.

00:00 – The Stakes: Firmware bugs during COVID and what they revealed

02:00 – Meet Ryan Torvik: From cybersecurity offense to medical emulation

05:00 – What “embedded” really means—and why these devices remain vulnerable

10:00 – Why firmware updates in MedTech aren’t like consumer tech

14:00 – Building Barnhill: A digital twin for real-time debugging

17:00 – How Barnhill differs from other emulators and digital twins

21:00 – A glucose monitor case study: translating voltage into clinical meaning

25:00 – MedTech’s friction points: regulation, reimbursement, and risk

30:00 – Why cybersecurity lessons aren’t translating to healthcare

34:00 – DevSecOps and SPDF: A new framework for firmware confidence

40:00 – The real barrier: MedTech’s “never touch it again” mindset

45:00 – Can AI help accelerate testing without adding new risks?