I helped kill 6 people

Before you call the cops - I also helped bring all 6 back to life.

Well, a couple months ago devices with circuits I helped design were implanted into the bodies of 6 people in New Zealand! Part of the implant procedure is putting the patient into ventricular fibrillation, which is reasonably close to death (the heart has stopped pumping blood through the body). Then the doctor checks to make sure the device brings the patient back (obviously with paddles near by in case the device doesn't do its job).

I think that between the two years of waiting for this to happen and not being at the company when it did made the whole thing somewhat anticlimactic for me. Although every once in a while it strikes me that there are six people out there with circuits I helped design in their bodies. And then I think, oh god I hope I didn't screw up! And I feel like I shouldn't claim too much credit in case something bad happens. Actually that is part of my lack of excitement - a lot of what I worked on and pushed for was making sure it would work reliably, which won't be known until lots of people have them for at least five years.

But my primary concern has disappointingly quickly shifted from people's safety to the value of my (trivially small number of) stock options. Well, at least the two are sufficiently linked that I don't have to feel too bad about it. At least I've avoided wishing someone would go into cardiac arrest so the device could save them.

For anyone wondering why New Zealand - my understanding is their version of FDA trials is basically to ask the company to pinky swear that their device won't hurt anyone (seriously I think the company just signs some ethics statement - sometimes the US FDA doesn't seem so bad).