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In the beginning of 2023, Dr. Anne Lent had just gone through a traumatic breakup, her father was terminally ill, and she was navigating a move to a new part of Milwaukee. During this turbulent time, Lent, who had spent 15 years practicing medicine as an allergist/immunologist, was in search of a new direction and a new source of passion in her life.
Over the next several weeks, the answer became obvious after a series of incidents: a patient who did not have an epinephrine injector available passing away following a bee sting; a parent of a peanut-allergic child incorrectly delivering an epinephrine autoinjector; and a skilled clinician failing to provide adequate force to properly administer life-saving epinephrine to a patient.
“If you close your eyes to life’s endless possibilities, you may miss something you are destined for.”
After years of frustration with the current autoinjectors, Lent had a vision of the ideal epinephrine device – one that was easier to use, more intuitive and could save lives. “As a clinician, it’s clear that the medical device engineers don’t actually use these devices,” says Lent. “Usability is so important, especially in an emergency situation.”
She partnered with Steve Augustyn, the head of drug delivery at Cambridge Design Partnership, to make the vision real. After a year, Lent’s team created a more user-friendly, intuitive and pediatric-specific epinephrine autoinjector prototype which holds a US patent. “Persistence, passion and tenacity are the keys to the game; never take no for an answer,” says Lent. “Everyone falls down in life. You have to get back up, lick your wounds and build upon those ‘chisel moments’ which shape your future and, ultimately, shape your soul.”
Q&A
What kind of advice do you have for clinicians or entrepreneurs who are looking for a new purpose to drive their work?
I’d say, don’t give up on the hope of something new. If you close your eyes to life’s endless possibilities you may miss something you are destined for. Keep fighting, asking questions and pursuing what you know is right, no matter how many ‘nos’ you get along the way. Try to love the life you have and not the life you think you should have. Keep working until both of those are the same.
