The Incubator

#172 - 🔵 Managing Respiratory Distress Series - Episode 5 with Andy Niccol from Fisher & Paykel

Dec 21, 2023

33:33

In this insightful episode of our special podcast series on managing respiratory distress, we welcome Andy Niccol, General Manager for Respiratory Humidification at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. Andy brings his 18 years of product design experience in the medical device industry to the table, discussing the challenges and breakthroughs in designing respiratory care devices for neonatal, pediatric, and adult patients.

Andy delves into the complex process of product development, emphasizing the need for deep understanding of clinical problems and patient needs. He shares how his team embeds itself in clinical environments to develop empathy with caregivers and patients, thereby creating innovative and valuable solutions. Andy gives concrete examples from his work, such as the development of the Optiflow Junior nasal high flow cannula and FlexiTrunk interface, demonstrating the intricate balance between patient safety, comfort, and effective therapy delivery.

The conversation also touches on the critical aspect of user feedback in product design, especially when dealing with delicate patients like neonates. Andy candidly shares a story of a design failure that led to significant improvements in their approach to prototyping and testing.

Lastly, the episode explores Fisher & Paykel's philosophy of 'care by design' – prioritizing patient outcomes in every design decision. Andy's passion for improving neonatal care shines through as he discusses future trends and the increasing shift towards non-invasive respiratory support. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of engineering, product design, and neonatal care.

As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.

Enjoy!