DeviceTalks Podcast Network

Better MedTech requires more than one perspective.

In this episode of the DeviceTalks Women in MedTech podcast, Host Kayleen Brown talks with Deanna Harshbarger, CEO of Cala Health, about designing for the whole picture, from patients’ everyday needs to the people, evidence, and business decisions that bring a technology to market.

A chemical engineer turned business leader, Harshbarger shares lessons from her career at Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic, including helping build Boston Scientific’s deep brain stimulation franchise and gaining experience with connected devices and direct-to-patient care at Medtronic.

Now leading Cala Health, Harshbarger explains how those experiences inform the company’s noninvasive, wrist-worn therapy for action hand tremor in people with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. She discusses why clinical effectiveness and usability must go hand in hand, how regulation and reimbursement shape access, and why no single person holds the answer to building a product that works for patients and can scale sustainably. That philosophy also shapes her leadership: removing hurdles, welcoming different perspectives, and ensuring every person knows their voice matters.

Kayleen also welcomes Yvonne Bokelman, Executive Director of MedtechWOMEN, for an in-studio conversation about highlights from MedtechVISION 2026, the organization’s growing mentorship and community programs, and why diverse perspectives are essential to better medical device development.

Thank you to MedtechWOMEN for sponsoring this episode of the Women in MedTech podcast! To learn more about the organization, please visit: https://medtechwomen.org/

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Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction: Designing for the Whole Picture & Cala Health Milestones
(00:03:11) - Interview with In-Studio Guest, Yvonne Bokelman (MedtechWOMEN)
(00:16:58) - Start of Keynote Interview with Deanna Harshbarger
(00:17:30) - First Job Lessons: From a Bakery to the Chemical Manufacturing Floor
(00:22:53) - Finding MedTech: Johnson & Johnson, Cordis & Balanced Regulation
(00:30:56) - Boston Scientific: Building Deep Brain Stimulation from the Ground Up
(00:39:14) - Medtronic & Connected Health: Serving Patients Directly
(00:41:38) - Cala Health: Revolutionizing Tremor Treatment Noninvasively
(00:47:13) - From VP to CEO: Scaling Leadership, Team Culture & Mentorship
(00:53:58) - Outro: The Whole Picture, MedtechWOMEN & Connected Health Preview

The strongest MedTech innovation doesn't begin with technology in search of an application. It begins with a problem that matters enough to solve.

In this episode of the Women in MedTech podcast, Host Kayleen Brown talks with Melaine DiLuzio, Vice President of U.S. Sales for Enabling Technologies within Medtronic’s Cranial & Spinal Technologies (CST) unit, about purposeful innovation—and the responsibility to connect every technology investment to a meaningful clinical need. Melaine shares how more than two decades in MedTech sales, including her progression from associate sales representative to executive leadership, have shaped her approach to purpose, preparation, and building teams that can lead through change.

Melaine also unpacks how the CST division approaches enabling technologies: the connected tools for surgical planning, imaging, navigation, robotics, and execution that support cranial and spine procedures. She discusses the importance of designing technology around the realities of clinical workflow, adoption, and long-term utility—and why the most vital question innovators can ask remains: What problem are we solving with this technology?

Kayleen also welcomes Caryn Mills, Medical Device Sales Director at HID Global, about how Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) can support purposeful innovation throughout the medical device lifecycle. Caryn explains how RFID helps OEMs address challenges involving authentication, calibration, traceability, lifecycle management, workflow, and patient safety—and why teams should consider those needs early in the design process.

Join us October 22nd and in December to learn more about RFID in two upcoming MDO webinars. Register for free here: https://gateway.on24.com/wcc/experience/elitewtwhmedia/2927718/4415899/medical-design-outsourcing 

Thank you to HID Global for supporting this episode of the DeviceTalks Women in MedTech podcast. To learn more about how HID Global works with medical device companies, visit: https://www.hidglobal.com/ 

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Enjoy this podcast? Follow Women in MedTech with Kayleen Brown on all major podcast players: https://women-in-medtech.castos.com/subscribe + Follow us on YouTube.com/@DeviceTalks to ensure you never miss an episode.

Want access to the complete DeviceTalks Podcast Network (DTPN)? Follow us today at https://devicetalks.castos.com/subscribe

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro: A Note From Kayleen
(00:02:00) - In-Studio Guest Caryn Mills, HID Global
(00:08:27) - Why RFID Must Be Considered Early in Device Design
(00:14:35) - Start of Keynote Interview: Melaine DiLuzio, Medtronic CST
(00:15:02) - Purpose in MedTech: The Patient Story That Stays With You
(00:31:39) - Why Sales Experience Builds Stronger Leaders
(00:37:43) - What Enabling Technologies Make Possible in Cranial & Spine Care
(00:39:36) - Stealth AxIS: Connecting Planning, Navigation, Robotics & Data
(00:44:16) - Making Technology Adoption Stick: Workflow, ROI & Partnership
(00:48:07) - Enabling Technologies and the Move to ASCs

In this episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, Host Tom Salemi talks with Preceptis Medical CEO Dave Carey about his path from MedTech sales to the corner office.

Carey shares lessons from launching disruptive technologies at Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Stryker and Pristine Surgical, including what he looks for when hiring salespeople and what it takes to change established clinical workflows. Carey also explains why his new role at Preceptis is personal. After his daughter experienced emergence delirium following anesthesia for an ear tube procedure, Carey was drawn to Hummingbird, Preceptis’ technology for moving ear tube procedures out of the OR and into the physician’s office without general anesthesia.

He explains how Preceptis is working with ENTs, pediatricians and parents to drive adoption and why changing even a five-minute procedure requires more than selling a medical device. For more information, visit https://www.hummingbirdeartubes.com 

We’ll open the episode with Newmarker’s Newsmakers featuring Mindray, Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson MedTech.

This episode is sponsored by DeviceTalks Tuesdays Connected Health Series. Register at DeviceTalks.com. 

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Enjoy the show? Follow DeviceTalks Weekly on all major podcast players + Follow us on YouTube.com/@DeviceTalks to ensure you never miss an episode.

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Chapters

(00:01:13) - A bit of news from Tom Salemi
(00:06:18) - Medtronic hires former Recor CEO to run interventional cardiology group
(00:08:15) - Mindray looks to fill hospital ventilator gap left by Philips’ exit
(00:09:39) - Medtronic strengthens robotic surgery position with Cornerstone deal, analysts say
(00:11:15) - Citi downgrades Boston Scientific as cyberattack recovery compounds competitive pressure
(00:14:25) - Johnson & Johnson drops LAA assets following suspended pivotal study
(00:17:55) - Keynote Interview: Dave Carey, CEO, Preceptis Medical

In this episode, MassDevice Editor Chris Newmarker interviews Shan Jegatheeswaran, Global President, Polyphonic, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, about what’s to come after the transformation brought to the operating room by digital surgery and robotics.

Jegatheeswaran reports that a new wave of surgical intelligence could take that transformation much further by connecting devices, data, AI and clinicians across the entire perioperative pathway. Jegatheeswaran explains why the biggest challenges may no longer be technological. Interoperability, economic incentives, governance, change management and trust all have to evolve alongside AI and connected medical devices.

We’ll open the episode with this week’s Newmarker’s Newsmakers – Petal Surgical, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Zimmer Biomet and Abbott.

This episode is sponsored by DeviceTalks West. Go to west.devicetalks.com.

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Enjoy the show? Follow DeviceTalks Weekly on all major podcast players + Follow us on YouTube.com/@DeviceTalks to ensure you never miss an episode.

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Chapters

(00:09:55) - Petal Surgical says its first-in-human incisionless surgery is coming soon and offers a first glimpse of its system
(00:12:10) - Boston Scientific could miss guidance over cybersecurity incident
(00:15:02) - Medtronic veteran joins Teleflex’s board
(00:17:14) - Zimmer Biomet lets go of former Nevro CEO amid leadership restructuring
(00:19:32) - Abbott earns FDA approval for new dual-energy ablation catheter
(00:22:46) - Shan Jegatheeswaran, Global President, Polyphonic, Johnson & Johnson MedTech

In this episode, Host Tom Salemi sits down with Eliane Schutte, CEO of Xeltis, to discuss a remarkable biomaterial designed to help the body grow its own living blood vessels. Schutte explains how the technology is being used for dialysis patients today and how it could eventually transform coronary bypass surgery, peripheral vascular care and even heart valve replacement.

In the FOMO studio, Tom speaks with Katie Grant, VP of MR at Siemens Healthineers North America, about the global helium supply and why the MRI industry is working to reduce its reliance on the increasingly precious gas. They explore how new magnet designs could make MRI systems lighter, more accessible and easier to install in new locations.

As always, we’ll open the podcast with the top stories from MassDevice in Newmarker’s Newsmakers, delivered by MassDevice Editor Chris Newmarker. This week, Chris covers Medtronic’s major investment in surgical robotics, Enovis’ acquisition of eCential Robotics, Stryker’s move to strengthen its shoulder portfolio, the rebranding of Johnson & Johnson MedTech, and job shifts at Zoll Medical.

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Enjoy the show? Follow DeviceTalks Weekly on all major podcast players + Follow us on YouTube.com/@DeviceTalks to ensure you never miss an episode.

Want access to the complete DeviceTalks Podcast Network (DTPN)? Follow us today at https://devicetalks.castos.com/subscribe

Chapters

(00:04:35) - Zoll Medical is closing a California facility
(00:07:33) - Stryker to acquire ZuriMed to boost shoulder offerings
(00:09:35) - Enovis to acquire eCential Robotics for €155 million, plans to bring surgical robot to market
(00:11:58) - J&J MedTech is rebranding Shockwave Medical
(00:14:06) - Medtronic invests $780M in two companies amid Street-beating Q2
(00:17:10) - FOMO – The State of Helium in MR – Katie Clark, Siemens Healthineers
(00:31:38) - Keynote Interview – Eliane Schutte, CEO, Xeltis