Medtronic has four main business units: the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, the Diabetes Group, the Restorative Therapies Group, and the Cardiac and Vascular Group. Medtronic develops and manufactures devices and therapies to treat more than 30 chronic diseases, including
heart failure,
Parkinson disease,
urinary incontinence,
Down syndrome,
obesity,
chronic pain, spinal disorders and
diabetes.
Acute care and monitoring Acute care and monitoring (ACM) is based out of
Lafayette, Colorado and produces non-invasive sensors and monitoring products, used for patient monitoring in the hospital and home settings. It has absorbed the portfolios of acquired companies, including
Covidien,
Nellcor,
Somanetics,
Aspect Medical Systems,
Oridion Medical and
Zephyr Technology. This business unit produces
pulse oximetry,
capnography, and
bispectral index sensors,
patient monitors,
remote patient monitoring software, and
electronic medical record connectivity software.
Cardiac rhythm disease management Cardiac rhythm disease management (CRDM) is the oldest and largest of Medtronic's business units. Its work in heart rhythm therapies dates back to 1957 when Bakken developed the first wearable heart pacemaker to treat abnormally slow heart rates. Since then, it has expanded its expertise in electrical stimulation to treat other cardiac rhythm diseases. It 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,
Vitatron, acquired by Medtronic in 1986, is now a European subsidiary of the unit. Medtronic and Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medtronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices; they use separate interfaces. In 2007, Medtronic recalled its Sprint Fidelis product, the flexible wires, or leads, which connect a defibrillator to the interior of the heart. The leads were found to be failing at an unacceptable rate, resulting in unnecessary shocks or no shocks when needed; either can be lethal. The scope of the problem continues to be a matter of research. Studies since the recall, disputed by Medtronic, suggest that the failure rate of already-implanted Sprint Fidelis leads is increasing exponentially. Medtronic's liability is limited by various court decisions.
Spinal and biologics Spinal and biologics is Medtronic's second-largest business. Medtronic is the world leader in spinal and musculoskeletal therapies. In 2007, Medtronic purchased Kyphon, a manufacturer and seller of spinal implants that are necessary for procedures like
kyphoplasty. In May 2008, Medtronic Spine agreed to pay the
US government $75 million to settle a
qui tam lawsuit after a
whistleblower alleged that Medtronic committed Medicare fraud. The company was charged with illegally convincing healthcare providers to offer kyphoplasty, a spinal fracture repair surgery, as an inpatient, not an outpatient, procedure to make thousands of dollars more in profits per surgery. A "special report" by writer
Steven Brill in
Time showed that according to Medtronic's quarterly
SEC filing of October 2012, the company had, on average, a 75.1% profit margin on its spine products and therapies.
Cardiovascular Medtronic's
cardiovascular therapies 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. As of August 2024, cardiovascular portfolio included four product segments - cardiac rhythm products, heart failure products, structural heart and aortic products, coronary and peripheral products.
Neuromodulation Neuromodulation is the second-oldest and third-largest department of Medtronic. Its products include
neurostimulation systems and implantable drug delivery systems for chronic pain, common movement disorders, and urologic and gastrointestinal disorders. The department's revenues in 2014 amounted to $1.9 billion, or 11% of Medtronic's total revenues.
Diabetes The
diabetes management manufacturing and sales division of Medtronic is based on the perimeter of the
California State University, Northridge campus in
Northridge, California. The original company, Minimed Technologies, was founded in 1983 by
Alfred E. Mann and spun off from
Pacesetter Systems to design and market an open loop
insulin pump. The MiniMed 502 was one of the first lightweight insulin pumps on the market, and it helped bring insulin pump usage to the mainstream market. In 1992, the MiniMed 506 was a major redesign to make it more appealing to consumers. The new design was met by boosted adoption rate, and sales increased by 357%. In 2001, Medtronic purchased Minimed, to form Medtronic Minimed. On 11 May 2009, Medtronic announced it had chosen
San Antonio, Texas, for the location of its new Diabetes Therapy Management and Education Center. The company announced that it expected 1400 new jobs would be created to staff the facility. In September 2016, the
FDA approved a device, the MiniMed 670G which was launched in 2017. It was the world's first Hybrid Closed Loop system for people with type 1 diabetes. Featuring the company's advanced algorithm - SmartGuard technology and glucose sensor - Guardian™ Sensor 3, it was the first insulin pump approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that enabled personalized and automated* delivery of basal insulin, the background insulin needed to maintain stable blood sugar levels throughout the day and night. The advanced SmartGuard Auto Mode algorithm worked in conjunction with the company's glucose sensor - Guardian Sensor 3 - to self-adjust basal insulin delivery based on the glucose sensor.
Surgical technologies , 2013'' The surgical technologies business group designed and manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases and cranial, spinal, and neurologic conditions. It also encompassed a surgical navigation division to design "StealthStation" systems, software, and instruments for
computer assisted surgery (CAS) and a special intraoperative X-ray imaging system (3D fluoroscopy), known as the O-arm Imaging System. Many of the products are used for minimally-invasive surgical procedures. In 2016, the business unit was dissolved, and each site folded into new business groups.
Renal care solutions The renal care solutions business group designed and manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment related to renal organs like kidney. In 2023 this business unit was spun off into an independent business called Mozarc Medical.
Technology safety In 2011, an independent security researcher, Jay Radcliffe, revealed a security vulnerability in a Medtronic insulin pump at the computer security conference
Black Hat Briefings, allowing an attacker to take control of the pump. Medtronic responded by assuring users of the full safety of its devices. In 2008, a team of computer security researchers was able to take remote control of a Medtronic cardiac implant. The team, using an unused implant in a lab, was able to control the electrical shocks delivered by the defibrillator component and even glean patient data from the device. In February 2020, Medtronic recalled around 322,000 MiniMed insulin pumps with faulty pump retainer rings, which had been correlated to death and around 2,000 injuries.
Portable ventilators On 30 March 2020, Medtronic shared its portable
ventilator design specifications during the outbreak of
COVID-19 pandemic, in order to accelerate global ventilator production.
Subsidiaries Vitatron Vitatron is a
Netherlands-based European subsidiary of Medtronic. It is focused on development and manufacturing of
cardiac pacing technology. Once an independently operating Dutch medical company, it was acquired by Medtronic in 1986. Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medtronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices, using a separate interface.
History of Vitatron • 1956: Vitatron founded • 1962: First Implantable pacemakers • 1981: Microprocessor-driven, software-based pacemaker (DPG1) • 1982: Rate Responsive pacemaker (TX1) • 1984: Quintech DDD with automatic upper rate behavior ("mode switch") • 1988: Daily Learn algorithm (Rhythmyx) • 1997: First upgradeable pacemaker system with dedicated AF diagnostics, rate and rhythm control therapy. • 2003: Vitatron goes digital: 1st Vitatron C-Series, the world's first fully digital pacemaker. • 2004: 2nd Vitatron C-Series, digital, fast pacemaker. • 2004: Vitatron T-Series: The full picture, digital pacemaker system. • 2005: Vitatron C-Series, A3 models, a new top line range of digital pacemakers for bradycardic patients. ==Criticism==