Medtech Mourns the Loss of Earl Bakken: Visionary, Humanist, Pioneer

Thousands of patients, clinicians, and medtech colleagues took to Twitter on Monday to honor the legacy of Earl Bakken. The co-founder of Medtronic and inventor of the first wearable external pacemaker, Bakken died Sunday in Hawaii at age 94. “All of us at Medtronic are saddened today by the news of Earl’s passing,” said Omar Ishrak, chairman and CEO of Medtronic. “Earl was a true pioneer in healthcare and his vision of using technology to help people still inspires us today. We are privileged to continue the work that he started over 60 years ago and we remain fully committed to all six tenets of the Mission that he crafted so many years ago.” Medtronic lowered the flags outside its operational headquarters in honor of Bakken and the company published a page on its website dedicated to Bakken and the company's humble beginnings. The company also asked Twitter followers to share their stories of how Bakken impacted their lives. "A giant has fallen," former Medtronic CEO Bill George tweeted. "For 94 years Earl was a visionary, humanist, and pioneer. He not only invented the pacemaker but created [an] entire medical technology field. A believer in healing the whole person." Bakken and his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie, formed Medtronic in 1949 and turned it from a startup they ran out of a Minneapolis garage into the multinational medtec...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news