Earl Bakken

Daily

Medtronic founder: Frankenstein inspired me to build the portable pacemaker

In the preface to Frankenstein, Mary Shelley described her reflections following conversations with other intellectuals considering 19th century science:  “Perhaps a corpse would be re-animated; galvanism had given token of such things,” she wrote. “Perhaps the component parts of a creature might be manufactured, brought together, and endued with vital warmth.” Despite fear or superstition about […]

Devices & Diagnostics

Medtronic expertise (& family connections) guide Cameron Health

In mid-May, Cameron Health Inc. struck media gold when the New York Times and the New England Journal of Medicine both gave prominent coverage to the company's efforts to develop the medical device industry's first subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Not bad for a relatively unknown startup in San Clemente, California. But a week earlier, Cameron struck managerial gold when it hired Warren Watson.