Entrepreneurial Doctor Takes the Sting Out of Shots An entrepreneurial doc sets aside her own jitters to help quell the fears of others

While driving one day, Amy Baxter felt her steering wheel vibrate due to mechanical difficulty, leaving her hands numb. The sensation--or lack thereof--became a classic "aha" moment.

An M.D. specializing in pediatric emergency medicine, Baxter had been dealing with her young son's traumatic experience receiving vaccination injections. That day in the car, she hit upon the idea that vibration, combined with cold, might overwhelm nerve endings and allow for pain-free injections, helping patients with fear of needles. After a few informal and pain-free tests on her own kids using a medical device for testing neurologic reflexes and a bag of frozen peas from her freezer, she knew she was onto something.

From 2004 to 2005 and through a move from Dallas to Atlanta, she quietly worked on her idea for a portable vibrating and cooling device she dubbed Buzzy. She sourced motors online, learned about selling--even smashed open old cell phones to check out their vibrating mechanisms. In Georgia, she teamed with the industrial design agency Formation Design Group. But every advance was overshadowed by fears: Was she putting her medical practice at risk by devoting funding, time and energy to a project that might go nowhere?