Medtronic, Inc. based in suburban
Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, is the
worldWorld is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
's largest
medical technologyMedical Technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions affecting humans. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and...
company and is a
Fortune 500The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company.
History
Medtronic was founded in 1949 in a
garageA residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
in northeast
MinneapolisMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
by
Earl BakkenEarl E. Bakken is an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist of Dutch and Norwegian American ancestry...
and his brother-in-law
Palmer HermundsliePalmer J. Hermundslie , with his brother-in-law Earl Bakken, founded the company Medtronic in 1949 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to Medtronic, Mr. Hermundslie worked in the lumber business....
as a medical equipment repair shop. They originally wanted to sell basketball pumps due to a shortage in the Midwest in the 20th century. Bakken began as a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota before he gave up his studies to focus on Medtronic.
Through their repair business, Bakken came to know
C. Walton LilleheiClarence Walton Lillehei , was an American surgeon who pioneered open-heart surgery, as well as numerous techniques, equipment and prostheses for cardiothoracic surgery.-Background:...
, a pioneer in the field of
heart surgeryCardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
then at the
University of Minnesota Medical SchoolThe University of Minnesota Medical School is the medical school of the University of Minnesota. It is a combination of two campuses situated in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota....
. Lillehei was frustrated with the
pacemakersA pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart...
of the day, which were quite large, applied electrical current externally (requiring higher voltages), and had to be plugged in to a
wall outletMains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power...
to operate. The deficiencies of such pacemakers were made painfully obvious following a
power outageA power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
over Halloween in 1957 which affected large sections of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. As a direct result of this blackout, a
pediatricPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
patient of Dr. Lillehei who was pacemaker-dependent died. The next day, Lillehei spoke with Bakken about developing some form of battery-powered pacemaker. Stemming from this need, Bakken modified a design for a transistorized metronome to create the first battery-powered external
artificial pacemakerA pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart...
.
The company expanded through the 1950s, mostly selling equipment built by other companies, but also developing some custom devices. Bakken built a small
transistorA transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
ized pacemaker that could be strapped to the body and powered by
batteriesAn electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
. Work into this new field continued, producing an
implantAn implant is a medical device manufactured to replace a missing biological structure, support a damaged biological structure, or enhance an existing biological structure. Medical implants are man-made devices, in contrast to a transplant, which is a transplanted biomedical tissue...
able pacemaker in 1960. Medtronic's main competitors in the cardiac rhythm field include Stryker Corporation,
Boston ScientificThe Boston Scientific Corporation , is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a range of interventional medical specialties, including interventional cardiology, peripheral interventions, neuromodulation, neurovascular intervention,...
and
St. Jude MedicalSt. Jude Medical, Inc. is a $16 billion global medical device company, with headquarters in Little Canada, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of St. Paul. The company sells products in more than 100 countries and has over 20 operations and manufacturing facilities worldwide. Its principal...
.
The company remains very focused on the mission originally written by co-founder
Earl BakkenEarl E. Bakken is an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist of Dutch and Norwegian American ancestry...
in the early-1960s. The first paragraph of the 6 paragraph mission statement reads:
"To contribute to human welfare by application of biomedical engineering in the research, design, manufacture, and sale of instruments or appliances that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life."
Medtronic business units
Medtronic is composed of six main business units which develop and manufacture devices and therapies to treat more than 30 chronic diseases, including (but not limited to) heart failure,
Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
,
urinary incontinenceUrinary incontinence is any involuntary leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a profound impact on quality of life. Urinary incontinence almost always results from an underlying treatable medical condition but is under-reported to medical practitioners...
,
obesityObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
,
chronic painChronic pain has several different meanings in medicine. Traditionally, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has relied upon an arbitrary interval of time from onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since the initiation of pain, though some theorists and...
, spinal disorders, and diabetes.
CRDM
CRDM (Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management) is the oldest and largest of Medtronic's business units. Its work in heart rhythm therapies dates back to 1957, when co-founder Earl Bakken developed the first wearable heart pacemaker to treat abnormally slow heart rates. Since then, CRDM has expanded its expertise in electrical stimulation to treat other cardiac rhythm diseases. CRDM has also made an effort to address overall disease management by adding diagnostic and monitoring capabilities to many of its devices. An independently operating Dutch pacemaker manufacturer
VitatronVitatron is a Netherlands-based European subsidiary of Medtronic, a worldwide leader in medical technology. It is focused on development and manufacturing of cardiac pacing technology...
was acquired by Medtronic in 1986, and now it is a European subsidiary of Medtronic CRDM unit. Medtronic and Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medftronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices, using separate interfaces.
Spinal & Biologics
Spinal and Biologics is Medtronic's second largest business, and Medtronic is the world leader in spinal and musculoskeletal therapies. In 2007, Medtronic purchased Kyphon, a manufacturer and seller of spinal implants necessary for procedures like kyphoplasty.
CardioVascular
Medtronic's therapies in this business span the major specialties of interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, and vascular surgery. The products are used to reduce the potentially debilitating effects of coronary, aortic, and structural heart disease.
In 2007, Medtronic recalled its Sprint Fidelis product, consisting of the flexible wires, or leads, which connect a defibrillator to the interior of the heart. The Sprint Fidelis leads were found to be failing at an unacceptable rate, resulting in unnecessary shocks or a failure to administer a shock when needed; either can be lethal. The scope of this problem continues to be a matter of research. Studies since the recall, disputed by Medtronic, suggest the failure rate of already-implanted Sprint Fidelis leads is increasing exponentially. Medtronic liability in this matter is limited by various court decisions.
Neuromodulation
Products include neurostimulation systems and implantable drug delivery systems for chronic pain, common movement disorders, and urologic and gastrointestinal disorders.
Diabetes
Medtronic Diabetes is the diabetes management manufacturing and sales division of Medtronic, based in Northridge, California. The original company, Minimed Technologies, was founded in the early 1980s and spun off from
Pacesetter SystemsPacesetter Systems Inc. was a biotechnology company founded by Alfred E. Mann in 1965. The company manufactured various implantable medical devices invented by Robert Fischell and the rest of the team at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory...
in order to design a practical
insulin pumpThe insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, also known as continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion therapy.The device includes:...
for lifelong wear. Most devices at the time were either too large or impossible to program and extremely unreliable. The release of the lightweight, menu-driven MiniMed 500 series changed the landscape, and was a major factor in bringing insulin pump usage to the mainstream. In the early 2000s Medtronic purchased Minimed to form Medtronic Minimed.
Current models consist of the
MiniMed ParadigmMiniMed Paradigm is a series of insulin pumps manufactured by Medtronic for patients with diabetes mellitus. The pump operates with a single AAA battery and uses a piston-plunger pump to infuse a programmed amount of insulin into the patient through a length of tubing...
523/723 and Paradigm Real-time Revel system and Guardian Real-time system. It is the first insulin pump which integrates continuous
blood glucose monitoringBlood glucose monitoring is a way of testing the concentration of glucose in the blood . Particularly important in the care of diabetes mellitus, a blood glucose test is performed by piercing the skin to draw blood, then applying the blood to a chemically active disposable 'test-strip'...
, allowing patients to see in real time their glucose level. As well as insulin pumps, Medtronic Diabetes also makes Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems (CGMS) for use as stand alone systems or integrated into its Minimed Paradigm 523/723 series pumps. The company also makes and/or markets a large range of accessories and components for its insulin pump and CGMS products.
As of March 2007 the MiniMed name has begun to be absorbed into the parent company, Medtronic. Medtronic has kept the MiniMed name to brand their insulin pumps, for example the MiniMed Paradigm 722. As Medtronic frequently uses Medtronic Diabetes as the name for the division, it is unclear to the extent the division will be integrated into Medtronic. Although Medtronic
MiniMed has its own website, and many products and marketing material still bear its name, the brand is being phased out.
On May 11, 2009, Medtronic announced it had chosen
San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
for the location of its new Diabetes Therapy Management and Education Center. The company announced that it expected 1,400 new jobs would be created to staff the 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²) facility.
Surgical Technologies
The Surgical Technologies business designs and manufactures products for the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases and cranial, spinal, and neurologic conditions as well as Computer Assisted Surgery (CAS) and intraoperative imaging systems. Many of the products are minimally invasive.
Technology Safety
Jay Radcliffe, an independent security researcher presented a speech at the BlackHat 2011. He revealed a security vulnerability in the Medtronic brand insulin pump, allowing an attacker remote control of that pump. Medtronic responded by assuring users of the full safety of their devices.
External links