Ten Questions With …

Abstract

How and why did you and your brother start Intelliject?My brother and I grew up with severe, life-threatening allergies to all peanuts, seafood, tree nuts, eggs, and many antibiotics. Like many other allergic individuals, we struggled to carry our epinephrine auto-injector with us. As we were traveling to Europe for vacation the summer before entering college, we thought we had left our epinephrine auto-injector at home. Fortunately, our diligent parents did not forget, but a discussion ensued about creating a new auto-injector that could better meet our needs and the perceived needs of other patients like us. As a result, we shaped our education around this idea of a novel epinephrine auto-injector. Eric studied medicine and pharmaceutical science, and I studied mechanical engineering, as well as systems engineering with a focus on human factors.What does the movement of more healthcare into homes mean for design?As more therapies move into the home, it is critical for developers and manufacturers to provide solutions catered to the specific user population. For medicine self-administration, it means focusing on the end user, which can be an adult patient, a child, caregiver, school nurse, or even a nontrained bystander.What's the biggest mistake most medtech manufacturers make?Not incorporating feedback from actual patients, as well as other end users, such as caregivers, during the ENTIRE development process.What's the most exciting development in healthcare on the horizon?We are on the cusp of seeing technology used in many different ways to provide better healthcare management and outcomes for patients. The shift to more medicine delivered in the out of hospital/clinic setting provides opportunities for companies like Intelliject to provide novel approaches to ensure successful use in that setting.What's the best part of your job?The opportunity to work on products that save lives with a management team that shares a purposeful and passionate culture.The worst part?Trying to integrate a demanding career with my focus on my amazing wife and two awesome boys.Who is your hero and why?Tony Dungy. His work, faith, and leadership is inspiring both on and off the field.What is one thing about you that others might be surprised to learn?That I sang five years in a college acapella group and one year for a professional group. Ask the AAMI HF workshop attendees; vocal percussion can be a great way to get participants to come back to their seats after a break.What is your philosophy in 10 words or less?To be a good leader, you need to serve first.What's the best career advice you ever got?The journey IS the reward, the bumps are not separate from the road; they ARE the road. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Finally, if your focus is on the patient, you can never go wrong.