Recruiting by Device: A Balanced Sample of LAAO Physicians
Unmet needs only surface when every major device has a voice in the sample.
A manufacturer was exploring opportunities in left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO). It wanted to understand unmet needs, market-entry considerations, and physicians' views of current devices.
The recruit targeted electrophysiologists and interventional cardiologists with at least two years post-fellowship and above-average LAAO volumes, across the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
The key design choice was quotas by device experience. In the US, the plan called for physicians who mainly use each of the two leading devices, physicians who split their use roughly evenly, and some with experience of a device in development. In Europe, quotas also covered a device mainly used outside the US, on a best-effort basis.
Interviews were held online. The final sample was 26 physicians:
US: 13 (11 electrophysiologists, 2 interventional cardiologists)
Europe: 13 (5 electrophysiologists, 8 interventional cardiologists), from Germany (5), the UK (3), Italy (2), Spain (2) and France (1)
US physicians came from 10 states. The mean experience was 16 years post-fellowship in the US and 17 in Europe.
Recruiting by device experience gave the client a balanced view of strengths and gaps across the main devices, rather than feedback skewed toward one brand.
