DeviceTalks Podcast Network

The evidence doesn’t always point toward the outcome you hoped for. Leadership means acting on it anyway.

Leadership means being prepared to act on evidence, even when it points toward a difficult decision.

In this episode of the Women in MedTech podcast, Host Kayleen Brown talks with Medtronic’s Linnea Burman, SVP and President of Neurovascular, about her journey from communications and patient storytelling to leading a medtech business. Linnea shares how listening, preparedness, and accountability have shaped her approach to leadership—and why building strong teams and an innovation roadmap are essential to moving technology forward. She also discusses a painful recall decision and what her team learned from it.

Kayleen welcomes Skyler Rivera, associate editor across MassDevice, Medical Design & Outsourcing, and DeviceTalks, for an in-studio conversation about accountability and storytelling. They discuss why sharing difficult experiences and what teams learn from them matters, not only for individual leaders, but for the wider MedTech community.

Thank you to Orthopedic Technologies Week for sponsoring this episode, register for the free webinar series at:  https://event.on24.com/wcc/mr/7017117/B6E1342D4E6805EE537326E516AAE81D?partnerref=KB

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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

I hope we're still friends. Be back next week, promise!

In this episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, Host Kayleen Brown talks with Joanna Nathan, CEO and Co-Founder of Prana Surgical, about why catching lung nodules earlier requires a right-sized approach to surgical intervention.

Nathan explains Prana’s goal of bringing a lumpectomy approach to lung surgery and how the company is developing its technology to localize and remove nodules while preserving surrounding healthy lung tissue. She distinguishes its initial focus on supporting tissue diagnosis from its longer-term vision of potentially treating lung cancer.

Nathan also shares lessons from Prana’s first-in-human experience in Australia, including how observing clinicians using the device helped identify design and workflow improvements. Along the way, she discusses her path from bioengineering to entrepreneurship and how lean medtech teams can use AI while maintaining human oversight.

In the FOMO interview, Andy Hansen, Global Director of Engineering at ATL Medical, discusses the future of pulsed field ablation and intravascular lithotripsy.

We’ll open the episode with this week’s Newsmakers, covering CMR Surgical’s plans following Stryker’s investment, Intuitive’s U.S. procedure growth and quarterly results, Johnson & Johnson’s timeline for its orthopedics spinoff, Abbott’s planned Nutrition business spinoff, and Medtronic’s appointment of a corporate president.

Special thanks to ATL Medical for sponsoring this episode of DeviceTalks Weekly. To learn more about how ATL Medical works with medical device companies, visit: ATLMedical.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.

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

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Message from Kayleen Brown, DeviceTalks
(00:02:26) - Start of Newsmakers
(00:21:49) - Start of FOMO with Andy Hansen, Global Director of Engineering, ATL Medical
(00:32:32) - Start of Keynote with Joanna Nathan, CEO and Co-Founder, Prana Surgical
(00:39:39) - Why Earlier Lung Nodule Detection Calls for Right-Sized Intervention
(00:45:30) - Prana’s Goal of Bringing a Lumpectomy Approach to Lung Surgery
(00:50:00) - Lessons from First-in-Human Cases and Refining Clinical Workflows
(00:55:00) - AI Guardrails for MedTech Teams and What’s Next for Prana

In this episode of DeviceTalks Weekly, Host Kayleen Brown welcomes back Rocco De Bernardis, Global President for Soft Tissue Robotic Surgery at Johnson & Johnson, to discuss the company’s OTTAVA™ Robotic Surgical System.

De Bernardis explains why OTTAVA’s four robotic arms are integrated into the operating table and how the system’s smaller footprint could give surgical teams more room to work while helping hospitals bring robotic surgery to additional operating rooms. He also shares what Johnson & Johnson learned from OTTAVA’s clinical trial, including how the system performed in different operating-room environments and what the company’s FDA authorization means as it prepares for a commercial rollout with selected U.S. customers.

The conversation also explores the technology behind OTTAVA, including its automated setup and docking, surgical instrumentation, and Polyphonic™, an open digital ecosystem designed to connect data from devices and systems across the operating room. De Bernardis discusses how these technologies could improve workflow, support surgical teams and create a foundation for the future of robotic surgery.

Catch the 2023 interview with De Bernardis here: https://www.devicetalks.com/hear-why-j-a-vc-discusses-the-impact-of-glp-1-drugs/ 

Special thanks to this episode's sponsor, Harmonic Drive. To learn more about how Harmonic Drive works with medical device companies, visit harmonicdrive.net.

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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

(00:00:00) - Message from Kayleen Brown, Managing Editor, DeviceTalks
(00:03:35) - Start of interview with Lee Ginter, Sales Engineering Manager, Harmonic Drive
(00:09:01) - Keynote Interview with Rocco De Bernardis, Global President for Soft Tissue Robotic Surgery, Johnson & Johnson
(00:09:52) - Why OTTAVA™ Integrates Robotic Arms Into the Operating Table
(00:13:35) - What Johnson & Johnson Learned From OTTAVA’s Clinical Trial
(00:14:47) - OTTAVA’s Smaller Footprint and Automated Setup
(00:21:59) - Designing Surgical Instruments for Greater Efficiency
(00:26:21) - Polyphonic™ and the Future of Connected Robotic Surgery

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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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) - 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