In this episode of Medsider Radio, we had a fascinating chat with Mary Lou Jepsen, founder and Chairman of Openwater, a medtech company developing breakthrough diagnostic and therapeutic wearables for cancer, stroke, mental illness, and beyond.

Openwater is rethinking how medical devices are built — not as single-purpose machines, but as flexible platforms that function more like smartphones.

A physicist and prolific inventor, Mary Lou holds nearly 300 patents and has launched over 50 products across VR, AR, holography, and consumer electronics. Previously, she led engineering at Intel, Facebook, and Google, taught at MIT, and now serves on the boards of Lear Corporation and Luminar Technologies. She has been named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people.

In this interview, Mary Lou explains why the traditional “one disease, one device” model falls short, and how her team is applying consumer electronics and open-source principles to develop scalable, software-driven tools. Backed by renowned investors including Khosla Ventures, Vitalik Buterin, and Esther Dyson, Openwater is aiming to make advanced care more accessible worldwide.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

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Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Mary Lou Jepsen.

A Case for Open-Source Medtech: Interview with Openwater Founder Mary Lou Jepsen

Medsider: Learn from Medtech and Healthtech Founders and CEOs