In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Timothy Coffin, a health‑informatics veteran, AI innovator, and CEO of ConQiro. Tim walks us through how he turned personal tragedy (a hospital incident involving his son) into a mission to improve hospital operations with real‑time AI for asset tracking and predictive maintenance. Along the the way, we dig into his entrepreneurial journey, from building early computer systems in high school to working in defense and intelligence, then pivoting to healthcare. We also explore what it really takes to deploy AI in hospital settings (from ethics to training to security), what’s next with large language models in clinical care, and the wisdom he’s learned about scaling startups, fundraising, and reinventing yourself across industries.

If you want to peek into the future of AI in health, or you’re a founder trying to navigate the messy intersection of compliance, speed, and meaningful impact, this is one you’ll want to listen to.

Highlights

• [2:30] Tim’s early tinkering days: creating a “match‑survey” app and one of the earliest point-of-sale systems
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• [6:15] From Air Force AI to telecom to defense: how his background built a foundation for healthcare
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• [11:40] The catalyst: his son’s hospital experience and the problem of missing or misplaced medical equipment
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• [16:20] The hidden cost: nurses spending 75 minutes per shift looking for equipment, and hospitals losing ~$4,000 per bed annually
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• [22:50] Deploying AI in healthcare — misconceptions, pitfalls, and non‑negotiables (ethics, security, model drift)
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• [28:10] The promise of LLMs in clinical settings: conversational programming, real‑time decision support, and integrating domain expertise
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• [33:40] Commercial vs government innovation: why timelines differ, procurement challenges, and strategies to bridge the gap
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• [38:20] For AI founders: “Don’t sell AI, sell purpose.” Advice on fundraising, investors, and scaling
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• [42:00] Final advice: risk, reinvention, and surrounding yourself with talent that complements your strengths
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🔗 Links & Resources

• Website: https://conquiro.ai/
• Connect with Dr. Coffin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothypcoffin/
• Patent Hacks Website: https://www.patenthacks.com
• Trevor Skene LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-skene/
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Conclusion

Tim’s story is a powerful reminder that great innovations often arise from real, painful problems. His approach blends deep technical savvy, domain knowledge, and a relentless drive to make things better. As he says, founders often fail when they chase buzzwords instead of purpose. His journey also shows that you can reinvent yourself—medical tech, defense, telecom, academia—and carry common threads of curiosity, ethics, and solving problems.

If you got value from this episode, I’d appreciate it if you’d rate, follow, share, and review The Patent Hacks Podcast so more people can discover these conversations. Thanks for listening, and I’ll catch you next time.