Chicago doctor stands by ventures

Richard Berger, MD, of Chicago has a Zimmer Conference Center down the hall from his busy orthopedic office at Rush University Medical Center. He stars in a training video on the Warsaw, IN-based medical device-maker's Web site that shows him installing one of the implantmaker's artificial knees. Berger's experience as a leading expert in Zimmer's development of minimally invasive surgery illustrates the high stakes when doctors and medical-supply firms join in business ventures. Some fellow surgeons say Berger and Zimmer pushed new ideas too far, too fast, before the evidence supported them. But Berger rejects that notion and defends his relationship with Zimmer.