Karan Chitkara

Sr. Principal Software Engineer specializing in medical devices, cybersecurity, and patented neurotech innovation.

TIME Best Inventions 2025
Software Dev Lead — Medtronic BrainSense aDBS
Led software development of the world's first adaptive deep brain stimulation system, recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the Best Inventions of 2025 for controlling Parkinson's tremors.
12+
Years Experience
5
Patents
1
Active Trade Secret
2
New Patents in Pipeline

Background & Experience

Karan Chitkara

Medtronic software architect behind award-winning neurostimulation systems, a pioneer in DBS therapy programming logic, and inventor of multiple cited patents powering next-generation adaptive medical devices.

Full Resume

Patents

Granted and pending patents advancing deep brain stimulation technology.

37
Citing Patent Families
Unique families across 3 granted patents
15+
Citing Organizations
Industry leaders & research universities
Boston Scientific Medtronic Stanford University Carnegie Mellon University Newronika Saluda Medical Precision Neuroscience Neural Dynamics Technologies Ohio State Synchron Alfred E. Mann Foundation
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Systems, devices, and methods for electrical stimulation using feedback to adjust stimulation parameters
EP3204112A1 2017-08-16
Newronika S.r.l.
Apparatus and method for treating neurological disorders
US10596379B2 2020-03-24
Newronika S.r.l.
Apparatus for the treatment of neurological disorders using electrostimulation and method of processing the neurological signal
IT201800002962A1 2019-08-22
Newronika S.P.A.
Method and apparatus for treating Tourette Syndrome by brain stimulation
US11318309B2 2022-05-03
Newronika S.p.A.
Systems and methods for adaptive deep brain stimulation
EP4445832A3 2024-12-25
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Systems and methods for automated programming of electrical stimulation
EP4291294A1 2023-12-20
Carnegie Mellon University
System and method for deep learning for tracking cortical spreading depression using EEG
WO2022235467A1 2022-11-10
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Methods and systems for estimating neural activation by stimulation using a stimulation system
EP4313269A1 2024-02-07
West Affum Holdings DAC
Wearable medical devices detecting declines in health and probability of adverse events
US20230026404A1 2023-01-26
Medtronic, Inc.
Electric field therapy via implantable electrode
US20240399154A1 2024-12-05
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Using evoked potentials for brain stimulation therapies
US20230099390A1 2023-03-30
Medtronic, Inc.
Evoked signal based deep brain stimulation (DBS) programming
US20230166111A1 2023-06-01
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Methods and systems for monitoring or assessing movement disorders using a stimulation system
CN118251257A 2024-06-25
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Systems and methods for generating and using response maps for electrical stimulation
EP4415809B1 2026-01-28
Saluda Medical Pty Ltd
Assisted programming system for neural stimulation therapy
WO2023115148A1 2023-06-29
Saluda Medical Pty Ltd
Assisted programming system for neural stimulation therapy
US20250050106A1 2025-02-13
Precision Medical Co., Ltd.
Method for judging quality of electric stimulation signal, electric stimulation device and storage medium
CN116407756A 2023-07-11
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
Systems and methods for randomized coordinated reset deep brain stimulation
WO2023147514A1 2023-08-03
Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation
Systems and methods for monitoring stimulation drift in an electrical stimulation system
US12533520B2 2026-01-27
Medtronic, Inc.
Electrode configurations for electric field therapy
WO2023168034A1 2023-09-07
Medtronic, Inc.
Automatic calibration method and system for local field potential sensing tool for deep brain stimulation
CN120358977A 2025-07-22
Hangzhou Nuowei Medical Technology Co., Ltd.
System, apparatus and computer-readable storage medium for neural stimulation
CN115814271A 2023-03-21
BRC Technology (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.
Parameter adjusting method of stimulation system based on offline detection result and time-sharing stimulation system
CN115878969B 2023-05-26
Neural Dynamics Technologies Inc.
Deep brain stimulation systems and methods
WO2024178317A2 2024-08-29
Medtronic, Inc.
Systems, methods, and devices for providing stimulation therapy using displays of sensed physiological signals
CN121038857A 2025-11-28
Ohio State Innovation Foundation
Determining tremor characteristics from deep brain local field potential recordings
WO2025059530A1 2025-03-20
Huichuang Scientific Instruments (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Lead configuration device, method and storage medium for electroencephalogram detection equipment
CN117462148B 2024-05-14
Medtronic, Inc.
Programming adaptive deep brain stimulation
WO2025158348A1 2025-07-31
Medtronic, Inc.
Neurostimulation therapy using multiple leads positioned to provide improved sensing of physiological signals
WO2025158351A1 2025-07-31
Medtronic, Inc.
Guided programming of adaptive deep brain stimulation
WO2025158346A1 2025-07-31
Air Force Medical University (PLA)
Closed-loop transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation sedation method and system
CN117797406B 2024-11-12
Saluda Medical Pty Limited
Methods and systems for programming closed-loop neural stimulation therapy
WO2025189249A1 2025-09-18
Medtronic, Inc.
Adjustments to adaptive deep brain stimulation
WO2025224540A1 2025-10-30

Skills & Technologies

Languages

C C++ C# Swift Java Kotlin JavaScript SQL HTML / CSS XML

Frameworks & Patterns

KMM Bootstrap Struts MVVM MVC MVP FLUX

Tools & Platforms

Xcode Android Studio Visual Studio IntelliJ Git Jenkins Eclipse

Domain Expertise

Medical Device Software BLE Cryptography FDA / TUV / NMPA HIPAA / GDPR Deep Brain Stimulation Natural Language Processing Test Automation

Cybersecurity for Implantable Devices

BLE Encryption Secure Provisioning Threat Modeling AI Anomaly Detection Code Obfuscation Tamper-Proof Communication AI-Assisted Vulnerability Analysis

AI-Powered Compliance Automation

AI Test Case Generation Requirements Traceability Automated Validation Frameworks LLM-Assisted Code Analysis Regulatory Documentation 17M+ Line Static Analysis AI-Driven Regression Analysis

Awards

Technical Contributor of the Year

Awarded to one standout engineer across the entire neurostimulation organization for sustained, high-impact technical contributions.

SenSight Award

Recognized for exceptional contributions to the global release of the SenSight Directional Lead System.

Patent Recognition Awards

Formal recognition for multiple granted U.S. patents and international applications in neurostimulation software.


Measurable Impact

Quantifiable outcomes from architecting and leading software systems at scale.

Slashed validation cycles from months to days
Measured by Regulatory approval timelines accelerated across multiple global markets (FDA, TUV, NMPA)
By doing Building automation frameworks that analyze 17M+ lines of code and execute 20K+ test cases
Reduced manual testing effort by 90%
Measured by 20,000+ test cases now run automatically, replacing months of manual validation work
By doing Developing the Automation Runner Tool with integrated requirements tracking for regulatory audits
Saved clinicians hours of programming per patient
Measured by Eliminated manual trial-and-error electrode selection during DBS therapy sessions
By doing Leading the Electrode Identifier feature that automates electrode ranking and stimulation configuration
Unified mobile codebase across iOS & Android
Measured by Reduced code duplication and cut onboarding time for new therapy teams
By doing Architecting a Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) framework with shared business logic and reusable SDKs
Secured implantable device communication end-to-end
Measured by Full HIPAA & GDPR compliance for patient data across BLE-enabled neurostimulator devices
By doing Implementing proprietary cryptographic encryption and tamper-proof provisioning protocols
Delivered world's first adaptive DBS to global markets
Measured by FDA clearance achieved, recognized as TIME Best Invention 2025, deployed to patients worldwide
By doing Serving as global software lead, driving architecture, cross-team alignment, and verification frameworks

Career Timeline

Present
Leading next-generation project with BLE, cybersecurity, modular architecture, and cross-platform code reuse.
2025
Promoted to Sr. Principal Software Engineer Promotion
2024
Inventor of multiple international patent applications advancing automated programming and signal visualization.
2023
Global software lead for Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation (aDBS), world's first closed-loop DBS system.
2021
Promoted to Principal Software Engineer — Led software development for FDA-approved SenSight Directional Lead System. Promotion
2018
Promoted to Senior Software Engineer — Architected cross-therapy mobile communication platform. Promotion
2017
Promoted to Software Engineer — Designed mobile applications and automation tools for DBS therapy. Promotion
2015
Joined Medtronic as Associate Software Engineer in the Neurostimulation Division.
2014
Joined Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) as Software Engineer working on large-scale web-based energy systems.
2014
Earned Master's degree in Computer Software Engineering from North Dakota State University.
2012
Earned Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from North Dakota State University.

Academic Background

Master of Science
Software Engineering
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
December 2014
Bachelor of Science
Computer Science
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
May 2012
Foundation for Medical Device Software Career


How I Use AI

Leveraging AI as a force multiplier across engineering, innovation, and regulated product development.

When the software you write goes into a device implanted in someone's brain, you can't afford to be wrong. I use AI to draft, analyze, and pressure-test my work — but every decision still runs through a decade of building FDA-cleared systems. AI makes me faster; experience makes me right.

AI-Augmented Development

AI-powered coding assistants accelerate my daily workflow — from writing and refactoring code, to generating unit tests, drafting documentation, and reviewing architecture decisions in real-time.

Cursor GitHub Copilot ChatGPT Claude

AI in Medical Device Innovation

Exploring how AI and ML can transform DBS therapy — from predicting tremor onset using neural signal patterns, to personalizing stimulation parameters and automating electrode selection for optimal patient outcomes.

AI for Regulatory Acceleration

Using AI to streamline requirements traceability, generate and validate test cases, and draft regulatory documentation — compressing compliance workflows that traditionally take months into days.

NLP Research Background

My master's research at NDSU focused on building an interactive visualization system for opinion mining and sentiment analysis — applying NLP to extract, categorize, and dynamically visualize multi-layered sentiment data from large-scale text.

Sentiment Analysis Text Mining D3.js Visualization

AI as a Force Multiplier

In regulated environments where every line of code must be traceable and every decision auditable, AI serves as a thinking partner — expanding what a single engineer can accomplish while keeping safety, quality, and compliance non-negotiable.


Beyond Work

🌎

Travelling

Exploring new cultures, cities, and landscapes.

🍴

Food

Discovering local cuisines and hidden culinary gems wherever I go.

BMW Enthusiast

Passionate about the driving experience, engineering, and the Ultimate Driving Machine.

🛣

Road Trips

Long drives, scenic routes, and the freedom of the open road.

Anime

From epic shonen arcs to thought-provoking stories, always watching.

Let's Connect

Interested in collaborations, professional inquiries, or a conversation about innovation in medical device software.