We built what didn't exist — a home ear camera simple enough for any parent to use, on any child, in any condition. Shipping in phases, starting with a hygiene & inspection kit now.
Ryan's brother Chris watched his son Braeden suffer through ear infection after ear infection. The late-night drives to urgent care, the three-hour waits, the exams on a screaming toddler that ended in guesswork. After one too many of those nights, Chris said it plainly: "You have to be able to handle this at home and just call a doctor."
That was the spark. Ryan — a mechanical and biomedical engineer who had spent his career building medical devices — had already been watching the same problem play out across millions of families. Ear infections are the #1 reason parents bring children to a pediatrician. Over 26 million office visits a year in the United States alone. Most of them inconclusive because a distressed child in a cold exam room can't hold still long enough for a clear look.
Ryan teamed up with his longtime friend Lionel Nelson — a Yale-trained ENT surgeon and Associate Clinical Professor at Stanford — to build what didn't exist: a self-positioning ear camera simple enough for any parent, on any child, in any condition. No training. No clinic. No waiting room. It's shipping in phases — a hygiene & inspection kit first, with a Class I clinical imaging kit to follow as a free upgrade.
The Iris™ imaging probe you receive first is not just an ear camera. It is the foundation of an expanding platform of attachments — ear, nasal, oral, skin — all connecting to the same core device, the same app, the same account. The Jumbo™ ear attachment and full sizer system ship later as a free Phase 2 upgrade, once Class I registration and biocompatibility testing are complete.
We started with ears because they represent the largest single addressable use case in pediatric primary care. The platform architecture was designed from day one to expand beyond it.
The Zipline app pairs with every device for encrypted cloud storage, direct sharing with any provider, and access to virtual care services. AI analyzes non-ear/non-skin images normally today; AI description of ear/skin images unlocks in Phase 2, observational only. A patient can capture images at home and arrive at a virtual visit with real imaging data already in hand — shifting telehealth from a description of symptoms to a more informed consultation.
Zipline Health was co-founded by an engineer and a surgeon — a combination that defines the product.
Ryan is a mechanical and biomedical engineer with over 26 years in medical device development. He was an early employee at Kyphon (IPO, acquired by Medtronic), co-founded SileoMed, and has consulted across dozens of device companies. He holds or has contributed to over 75 patents across his career, including 8 issued and allowed for Zipline.
BS Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University.
Lionel is a board-certified ENT surgeon with over 50 years of clinical practice and a career defined by taking on the most complex surgical cases in his field. He completed his residency in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he remains an Associate Clinical Professor. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 21 years of service.
Lionel is a recognized key opinion leader in ENT and has served as a long-time advisor to multiple medical device startups. He is the founder of Apneon, a sleep apnea device company — where he and Ryan first worked together. That collaboration became the foundation for Zipline Health.
MD, Yale University School of Medicine.
Eight issued and allowed US patents protect the core Zipline platform. The patents cover the imaging probe design, the self-positioning mechanism, the sizer system, and the platform architecture for future attachments.
Patent numbers: 12,390,161 · 8,858,430 · 10,463,241 · 11,471,035 · 12,295,546 · 11,011,271 · plus 2 additional allowed. Several additional applications pending.
The device and imaging quality have been validated by practicing pediatricians and ENT surgeons in clinical and home settings. Physician feedback is available to qualified partners upon request.
We are building the partner ecosystem ahead of launch. Telehealth platforms, health systems, payors, and retail health organizations — reach out directly.
Partner with us ryan@ziplinehealth.comZipline Health's Phase 1 Iris™ imager is a personal hygiene and inspection camera, capturing images and video of the ear canal, skin, and other surfaces — not marketed or intended as a medical device in Phase 1. Images and video can be shared with and reviewed by a healthcare professional of your choice — including through virtual visit services available in the Zipline app.
In Phase 1, the app's AI declines to analyze ear canal, eardrum, or skin images and instead lets you export the photo for use with a general AI tool of your choice. Phase 2 (about 12 months out) unlocks observational AI descriptions of ear/skin images only — no diagnosis, no condition names — and requires completed FDA Class I registration and biocompatibility testing before it ships.