William New , PhD

Founder
Natus Medical
San Carlos, CA

Whether helping critically ill patients or newborns, Dr. William New has crafted solutions that balance the requirements of engineer, physician, and businessperson. William New, MD, PhD applies a unique mix of expertise and education in medicine, technology and business to improving healthcare through technology. He earned a bachelor's and a master's in electrical engineering from Stanford University; a doctorate in physiology from UCLA; a medical degree from Duke University; and a master's in business administration from Stanford. New holds 15 patents and has authored 20 scientific papers and four book chapters. He served for 25 years on the clinical faculty of Stanford's School of Medicine, where his clinical specialty was cardiovascular and heart transplant anesthesia and his research focused on the bioengineering of electronic instruments for intensive monitoring and life support. These interests fueled his invention of the pulse oximetry method of noninvasive monitoring of blood oxygenation during anesthesia. This innovation led to a commercial product now found in virtually every U.S. operating room. New founded and chaired Nellcor Inc. to develop and market pulse oximetry and other biomedical instruments. Following the successful sale of Nellcor in the late 1980s, New founded Natus Inc., which develops diagnostic and screening devices for pregnancy and infant care. He has also chaired The Novent Group, an early-stage seed investment fund targeting medical, environmental and educational markets, and he has consulted and advised medical professionals in the United States and overseas in technology transfer, technology spinouts, venture financing and new enterprise start-ups. Dr. New serves on the boards of numerous educational, corporate and charitable institutions.