{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6311fe9bae5d13001250521f/6a8114dbff328abd8407723c?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"From Nurse to Medtech Founder: How Clinicians Can Turn Everyday Observations into Healthcare Innovation","description":"<p>How a nurse turned a recurring healthcare problem into NeedleCalm, and what ten years of building taught her about medtech entrepreneurship.</p><p><br></p><p>What happens when you keep seeing the same problem at work and decide to solve it yourself?</p><p>Lauren Barber spent years as a nurse watching patients struggle with needle fear, sometimes avoiding healthcare altogether. After a distressing procedure ended in a needle-stick injury for Lauren herself, she decided there had to be a better way.</p><p>That decision became NeedleCalm.</p><p><br></p><p>But the idea was the easy part.</p><p><br></p><p>Lauren had no business background and no commercialisation roadmap. Over the next ten years, she learned about patents, prototypes, grants, clinical trials, manufacturing, funding, procurement and one of the hardest parts of medtech, getting healthcare systems to adopt something new. fileciteturn0file0</p><p><br></p><p>🔍 <strong>What You'll Learn:</strong></p><p>If you are a STEM professional sitting close to a problem you understand deeply, Lauren's story shows why that proximity can become a real entrepreneurial advantage.</p><p>You'll hear:</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>How clinical experience helped Lauren identify a problem others had accepted as normal.</li><li>What happens between an idea and a medical device reaching patients.</li><li>Why proving that a product works is only part of the challenge, adoption, reimbursement and workflow matter too.</li><li>How grants, the R&amp;D Tax Incentive, clinical trials and early manufacturing helped move NeedleCalm forward.</li><li>Why advice from well-meaning people is not always useful advice.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>If you have ever looked at a problem in your lab, clinic or workplace and thought, \"Someone should fix that\", play this episode to see what taking the first step can actually look like.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>About the Guest:</strong></p><p>Lauren Barber is a registered nurse and founder and CEO of NeedleCalm, an Australian medical device company focused on reducing pain and anxiety during needle procedures.</p><p>She developed NeedleCalm after years of seeing the impact of needle fear on patients and has spent the past decade building the product while continuing to work clinically.</p><p><br></p><p>📌 <strong>Episode Highlights:</strong></p><p><strong>00:00</strong> Why proximity to a problem can become an entrepreneurial advantage</p><p><strong>03:20</strong> What NeedleCalm is and why needle fear matters</p><p><strong>07:15</strong> The science behind the device</p><p><strong>13:15</strong> The needle-stick injury that changed everything</p><p><strong>17:00</strong> Starting with Google, a drawing and a provisional patent</p><p><strong>21:30</strong> Grants, prototypes and the first clinical trial</p><p><strong>24:00</strong> Learning the business side of medtech</p><p><strong>28:30</strong> R&amp;D funding and manufacturing in Australia</p><p><strong>30:00</strong> Why product development is only half the challenge</p><p><strong>33:00</strong> Reimbursement, economics and healthcare adoption</p><p><strong>38:15</strong> The difficulty of scaling medtech in Australia</p><p><strong>40:00</strong> Ten years of sacrifice and founder burnout</p><p><strong>42:00</strong> What Lauren would do differently</p><p><strong>43:00</strong> Whose advice should you actually listen to?</p><p><strong>45:00</strong> Awards, self-nomination and running your own PR campaign</p><p><strong>47:00</strong> Why you do not need the whole plan before you start</p><p>🔗 <strong>Resources Mentioned:</strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><ul><li>NeedleCalm</li><li>NSW Minimum Viable Product Grant</li><li>R&amp;D Tax Incentive</li><li>Radium Capital</li><li>NDIS</li><li>Diabetes Australia</li></ul><p><br></p><p>🤔 <strong>Reflection Time:</strong></p><p><br></p><ol><li>What problem do you understand better than most because you see it repeatedly in your work?</li><li>Who are you taking advice from, and have they actually walked a similar path?</li><li>What is one small step you could take to test an idea instead of waiting until you feel ready?</li></ol><p><br></p>","author_name":"Angelique Greco | Biotech & Health-Tech Expert | STEM Thought Leadership Coach"}