Masimo develops, manufactures and markets non-invasive patient monitoring products. Its Masimo Signal Extraction Technology provides measure-through motion and low perfusion pulse oximetry to measure oxygen saturation levels in arterial blood. Masimo also offers remote monitoring and clinician notification solutions based on the Masimo SET algorithms. This software- based technology is incorporated into a variety of product platforms depending on customers’ specifications.

Align designs, manufactures and markets the Invisalign system for treating malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth, using a series of doctor- prescribed, custom-manufactured, clear plastic removable orthodontic appliances (aligners). Invisalign corrects malocclusion using a range
of appliances, which move teeth to a desired final position. The company distributes its products directly to its orthodontist and general practitioner dentist customers. The system is sold in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Japan. The Invisalign system offers a range of treatment options and software for treatment visualization.

Thoratec makes mechanical circulatory support products for the treatment of advanced heart failure. Its primary product lines are ventricular assist devices (the HeartMate and HeartMate II LVADs, the Thoratec Paracorporeal VAD and the Thoratec Implantable VAD). Thoratec also markets Levitronix LLC’s CentriMag blood pumping system and manufactures a vascular access graft for renal dialysis.

Fisher & Paykel entered the respiratory care market in 1971 with a critical care humidifier system. It became a free-standing entity in November 2001, when it split from Fisher & Paykel Appliance Holdings. The healthcare firm now sells respiratory, acute care and obstructive sleep apnea products in more than 120 countries, either directly or via distributors and OEMs.

Kawasumi Laboratories makes and sells medical equipment via four divisions. The hemodialysis division manufactures dialyzers, blood circuit and arterial venous fistula needles and other dialysis equipment. The blood division makes blood bags, blood collecting kits and blood transfer sets. The cardiovascular division manufactures and sells blood pressure monitoring kits, angiographic catheters and artificial heart lung circuits. The infusion division provides physiological saline, infusion sets and respiratory filters.

Medical Action Industries Inc. develops, manufactures and distributes disposable medical products, including operating room disposable supplies, containment systems for medical waste, minor procedure kits and trays, bedside products and medical laboratory supplies.

Symmetry Medical makes implants, instruments and cases for orthopedic device manufacturers. The company also serves the arthroscopy, dental, endoscopy, laparoscopy, osteobiologic, spinal and other segments of the medical device market and provides specialized products and services to the aerospace market.

Merit Medical Systems is a leading manufacturer of medical devices used in diagnostic and interventional cardiology and radiology procedures. Its primary products consist of inflation devices used in angioplasty, stent placement
and discography; diagnostic and therapeutic catheters used for various procedures in cardiology and radiology; guide wires used to place balloon angioplasty catheters within a patient’s coronary arteries; products used to manage and monitor the administration of contrast and other fluid solutions during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures; thrombolytic catheters and fluid dispensing systems; angiography accessories; and standard and custom angiography kits.

Volcano, incorporated in January 2000, makes a suite of consoles and single-use disposables for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease. The company’s offerings include multi- modality consoles for intravascular ultrasound and functional measurement capabilities,
as well as the disposables used with the systems. (Volcano also has a telecom operation.)

ICU Medical was founded in 1984 by Dr. George Lopez after he lost a patient due to an accidental disconnect of an IV line. Lopez created the Click Lock, a locking mechanism for IV systems that also protects healthcare providers from needle sticks. Today ICU’s product portfolio includes the Clave NeedleFree Connector and the CLC2000 Catheter Patency Device and is still led by Lopez.

In 1994, a company called ATL Ultrasound began work on a miniaturized ultrasound device for diagnostic imaging. That business eventually morphed into the Handheld Systems Business Group, which in turn was spun out as Sonosite in 1999. The company focuses on portable and hand-held ultrasound devices,
offering “imaging performance typically found in costly ultrasound machines weighing more than 300 pounds in a system that is approximately the size and weight of a laptop computer,” according to its website. Sonosite lays claim to selling more than 60,000 systems since 1999.

Cantel Medical Corp. is a leading provider of infection prevention and control products in the healthcare market. Its products include specialized medical device reprocessing systems
for renal dialysis and endoscopy, dialysate concentrates and other dialysis supplies, disposable infection control products primarily for the dental industry, water purification equipment, sterilants, disinfectants and cleaners, hollow fiber membrane filtration and separation products for medical and non-medical applications and specialty packaging for infectious and biological specimens.

Haemonetics provides innovative blood management solutions, including devices and consumables, information technology platforms and consulting services for blood collectors, hospitals and other healthcare providers. Haemonetics sells into the blood and plasma component collection, surgical suite and hospital transfusion markets.

Kawanishi operates four business segments. Its medical equipment segment sells cardiovascular, cosmetic surgery, interventional radiology and ophthalmology devices. The life science segment sells testing reagents, drugs, physiochemical and analytical equipment. The supply, processing and distribution unit supplies product and information management as well as purchasing management solutions. The fourth segment sells and rents nursing-care beds and other equipment.

Cochlear Ltd. makes cochlear hearing aid implants in three geographies – the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific – with manufacturing operations in Australia and Sweden. Its core business is the manufacture and sale of the Nucleus cochlear implant system and supporting services.

Barco specializes in visualization technology across numerous sectors, offering imaging products such as reference monitors and medical displays. Barco – short for “Belgian American Radio Corporation”
– started out as a radio assembly company in 1934. In the past year alone, Barco has displayed the biggest video wall in the China telecom industry, equipped American Eagle Outfitters with a giant LED screen for Times Square, closed numerous digital cinema deals globally and teamed up with multiple hospitals worldwide. After acquiring FIMI in Italy, Barco’s digital visualization systems for radiology and cardiovascular display application sales grew 59 percent in 2010. The media, entertainment and simulation division sales are split about evenly with monitoring, control rooms and medical imaging sales, with the former pulling 52.5 percent and the latter raking in 47.5 percent. The company’s main presence is in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Arseus NV’s four divisions make medical and surgical products, medical IT solutions, dental products and magisterial preparations for pharmacies. The company distributes medical equipment
and consumables in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Spain, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. Arseus NV is owned by Omega Pharma Group and has various subsidiaries, including ABC Ducro Dental BV, Arseus Medical BV, Corilus BV, De Collegiale Bereiding BV and Fagron BV.

American Medical Systems Holdings Inc. focuses on pelvic health conditions, including male and female incontinence, erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia and pelvic floor prolapse in women. American Medical Systems sells into the urology, gynecology and colorectal surgery markets.

GreatBatch Medical is one of two segments of GreatBatch Inc. The division designs and manufactures systems, components and devices for the cardiac rhythm management, neuromodulation, vascular access and orthopedic markets, including batteries, capacitors, filtered and unfiltered feedthroughs, engineered components and enclosures used in implantable medical devices. The segment also makes instruments and delivery systems for hip and knee replacements, trauma and spine surgeries and hip, knee and shoulder implants. GreatBatch Medical’s product line also includes catheters, steerable sheaths and implantable stimulation leads. GreatBatch’s electrochem segment provides customized battery power and wireless sensing systems.

JMS makes medical equipment and drugs, operating as two business segments. The medical equipment and drug unit makes infusion products, including infusion sets, transfusion sets, infusion filters, injectors, injection needles, medicine preparation systems, butterfly needles, blood drawing sets, infusion pumps, syringe pumps and portable infusion pumps; general medical equipment, including surgical rubber gloves, operative gloves, masks, sheets and suction catheters; blood and peritoneal dialysis products, including artificial dialysis equipment, dialyzers, blood circuits, dialysis kits and peritoneal dialysate; and cardiovascular products, including artificial heart-lung apparatuses, hemoconcentrators, extracorporeal membrane oxygenators and angiography catheters. JMS Co.’s other segment is a medical equipment maintenance and contract manufacturing business.

Nikkiso makes medical and industrial equipment through three divisions: Medical, industrial and common. The medical unit makes and offers maintenance service for renal applications, including artificial kidney devices, dialyzers, blood circuits and artificial endocrine pancreas. The industrial division makes pumps, isotope separators for water treatment and carbon-riber-reinforced plastics for the aerospace industry. The common division runs Nikkiso’s administration, investment, research & development and operations arms.

Zoll makes resuscitation and rescue equipment, including automated external defibrillators, advanced life support defibrillators and the LifeVest wearable automatic defibrillator. Zoll also makes temperature management technology for critically ill or surgical patients and a non-invasive cardiac support pump (AutoPulse) designed to replace and improve manual chest compressions during CPR.

Founded in 1989, Delaware-based ResMed develops and manufactures products for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing, which affects about 20 percent of adults according to a 2002 sutdy. The company maintains a focus on treating obstructive sleep apnea, the most common type of sleeping disorder. Products sold include masks, devices, airflow generators, humidifiers, portable screening and diagnostics and packages of combined equipment. All products are designed to deliver air at positive pressure to the patient, the proven way to treat sleep apnea. In 2010, sales in North America accounted for 54 percent of the company’s revenue, Europe accounted for 37 percent, and the rest was conducted in the Asia Pacific.

The Cooper Companies operate through two medical device markets: CooperVision, which markets a broad range of contact lenses throughout the world, and CooperSurgical, which offers a broad range of medical devices, diagnostic products
and surgical instruments and accessories used primarily by gynecologists and obstetricians. The company pursues a consolidation strategy by acquiring key treatment niches within this highly fragmented market. The Delaware-based corporation, started in 1980, caters mainly to the American market. Although the visual sector is highly competitive and the surgical division assumes risks associated with acquiring branches, the company has seen growth in net income since 2008.

Tokyo-based Fukuda Denshi creates cardiology instrumentation, patient monitoring and ultrasound technologies and markets critical care monitoring and diagnostic ultrasound equipment in the United States. Most of the company’s manufacturing is in Japan, with the rest in Beijing and the U.S. The business has a rich history, from creating the first electrocardiograph in Japan to installing touch screen technology on its newest ECGs. However, the company’s outlook isn’t exactly hunky-dory. The company saw decreases across the board
in 2010 sales (excluding the “other products and accessories” division). Additionally, the corporation has concerns over the continuing deflation of the Japanese economy and worries that government-induced insurance policy changes could lead to a more competitive market, thus lowering sales revenues.

Sorin develops, manufactures and markets medical technologies for cardiac surgery and the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders. The company focuses on three major therapeutic areas: cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac rhythm management and heart valve repair and replacement. The majority of market action is in Europe, with 54 percent of Sorin’s sales, and America, with 28 percent of sales. The company demonstrated strong growth in 2010 with heart-lung machines, dominating 70 percent of the global market in that field. The acquisition of Gish Biomedical in the United States proved savvy, as the division contributed 4.4 million euros to the company’s oxygenator growth in 2010.

Amplifon offers four types of hearing aids. The behind-the-ear hearing aid is positioned outside the pavilion of the ear. The inside-the-ear hearing aid is applied inside the auditory canal. The glasses- type hearing aid, an appliance containing electronic circuits, is inserted inside special arms of glasses. The box-type hearing aid, comprised of a case containing electronic circuits connected by a lead to the earpiece, is used for serious hearing problems. Amplifon sells into a network of 3,000 sales outlets, 3,500 authorized centers, 2,000 affiliated shops and roughly 3,500 specialty hearing aid shops. Amplifon also makes otological instruments and distributes diagnostic and biomedical equipment.

Carl Zeiss Meditec specializes in ophthalmology, neurological and ear, nose & throat surgery. Its diagnostic and therapeutic solutions are used for treating four main ophthalmic conditions: Vision defects, cataracts, glaucoma and retinal disorders. The company’s solutions include optical biometry equipment; optical coherence tomography equipment; lens analyzers; fundus imaging cameras; standard and refractive ophthalmic lasers and slit lamps. For neurosurgery, it offers visualization solutions and surgical microscopes for trauma, nerve reconstruction and pediatric neurosurgery. Carl Zeiss is also developing visualization solutions for intraoperative radiation therapy. It has subsidiaries in Germany, France, Spain, the U.S., Japan, Mauritius and the United Kingdom.

Allergan focuses on developing and commercializing pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices and over-the-counter products for the ophthalmic, neurological, medical aesthetics, medical dermatology, breast aesthetics, obesity intervention, urological and other specialty markets in more than 100 countries. Allergan sells its products directly through its own sales subsidiaries in 36 countries and additionally through independent distributors in 100 other countries.

Hanger Orthopedic owns and operates orthotic and prosthetic patient-care centers in the U.S. The company also distributes branded and private-label O&P devices and components in the U.S., manufactured by third parties, and makes devices for patients with a loss of mobility via its Innovative Neurotronics Inc. subsidiary. Another subsidiary, Linkia LLC, develops programs to manage O&P patient care for private payors. Hanger operates in two segments: Patient care services and distribution.

Sirona Dental Systems makes dental equipment along three segments: Dental CAD/CAM systems, imaging systems and treatment centers and instruments. Sirona markets its products globally to dental practices, clinics and laboratories through an international network of distributors. These dental distributors supply both dental equipment and consumables.

Nobel Biocare provides restorative and aesthetic dental solutions, including implants, all-ceramic crowns, bridges and laminates, guided surgery solutions, scanners and biomaterials. Its “root-to-tooth” solution portfolio includes implants and abutments and individualized prosthetic solutions. Nobel
Biocare also offers a digital planning and ordering service for single-tooth to fully edentulous restorations. The company’s individualized prosthetics are designed using computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing technology and an automated industrial production process called NobelProcera. Nobel Biocare has manufacturing operations in Sweden, the U.S., Japan and Israel.

Integra LifeSciences makes implants, instruments and equipment for neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery and general surgery. Integra’s orthopedic products include devices and implants for spine, foot and ankle, hand and wrist, tendon and peripheral nerve protection and repair and wound repair. The company also offers a portfolio of implants, devices, instruments and systems used in neurosurgery, neuromonitoring, neurotrauma and related critical care. Integra also sells surgical instruments to U.S. hospitals, surgery centers and alternate care sites, including physician and dental offices.

Conmed makes surgical devices and equipment for minimally invasive procedures and monitoring for arthroscopy, powered surgical instruments, electrosurgery, endosurgery and endoscopy. Conmed sells into the orthopedic, general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery and gastroenterology markets via five segments: Endoscopic technologies, endosurgery, electrosurgery, Linvatec and patient care. Its product offering includes a line of endo- mechanical instruments for minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures; electrosurgical generators and related surgical instruments; arthroscopic instruments for orthopedic surgery; and small-bone, large-bone
and specialty powered surgical instruments.

Straumann Holding AG is a Swiss parent of the Straumann Group. The company focuses on implant and restorative dentistry and oral tissue regeneration. In collaboration with clinics, research institutes and universities, it researches and develops implants, instruments, computer- aided design/manufacturing prosthetics and tissue regeneration products for use in tooth replacement and restoration solutions or to prevent tooth loss. Straumann Holding AG also offers a range of services to the dental profession worldwide, including training and education, provided in collaboration with the International Team for Implantology. Straumann has 20 wholly owned subsidiaries: 13 in Europe, two in North America, three in the Asia/Pacific region and two in South America. The company also runs four manufacturing operations, three in Europe and one in North America.

Mindray Medical develops, manufactures and markets medical devices across three segments: Patient monitoring and life support, in-vitro diagnostics and medical imaging systems. It also provides after-sales services to distributors and hospitals in China through 30 local offices based in provincial capital cities and to hospitals in the U.S., the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Omron and its subsidiaries make electrical equipment, electronic application equipment, precision equipment, medical equipment and other general equipment in Japan and overseas. Its principal health care products include electric blood pressure manometers, electric thermometers, massagers, fitness equipment and computer peripherals. Omron operates through six reportable segments: Industrial automation, electronic components, automotive electronic components, social systems, healthcare and other businesses.

Hans Demant started the company that still bears his name as Oticon in 1904, after traveling to London for a hearing aid for his wife. Son William took the reins after Hans Demant’s death in 1910. Today, after a series of acquisitions, the company makes hearing aids, diagnostic instruments and personal communication devices via its core brands Bernafon, acquired in 1995, and, of course, Oticon.

Nihon Kohden develops and manufactures medical electronic equipment for hospitals and clinics such as EEGs, patient monitors and AEDs. Founded 1951, the company’s main mission is to research and develop new non-invasive technologies and improve the human-machine interface between patient and device. Most of Nihon Kohden’s revenue comes from Japan, with 82 percent of sales, with the remaining 18 percent coming from other areas like Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia. In 2010, sales across the board increased in physiological measuring equipment, patient monitors, treatment equipment and other medical equipment. The company’s main sources of revenue in 2010 were patient monitors at 37 million yen, as well as physiological measuring equipment and other medical
equipment, raking in about 28 million yen each.

While Konica Minolta manufactures products that span over many different sectors, it serves the healthcare community by developing X-ray digital diagnostic imaging systems that feature computed radiography, or X-ray image processing by computer. The company recently began sales of the new X-ray product Regius Model 210 and aims to expand business with hospitals and clinics. Established in 2003 through an integration of Konica Corporation and Mintolta Co., Ltd., Konica Minolta conducts business operations in approximately 40 nations worldwide. Sixty-seven percent of the company’s sales come from business technologies. Optics holds 17 percent of all sales, and the medical field is third with 13 percent. Sales have decreased steadily since 2008, and net income has fallen from 68.8 million yen in 2008 to 16.9 million yen in 2010 – a 75 percent decrease, probably due to factors such as a worsening employment environment, rising long-term interest rates and the yen’s strength in the currency markets.

Founded by a neurosurgery professor in 1972 Stockholm, Elekta provides innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. With a long product list, the company mainly creates tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow-enhancing software systems for cancer care. The company is divided into three components: Neuroscience, oncology and software. Elekta conducts business in North and South America, Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. All geographic locations saw across-the-board net income increases in 2010, with revenue climbing steadily since 2008.

In the mid-1980s, when Raymond Kralovic was a microbiologist working for Amsco International, he came up with a low-temperature, liquid sterilization process. He spent two years trying to sell Amsco management on the idea, to no avail, until (as corporate legend has it) he was asked to leave
the annual picnic – and the company. Kralovic took his idea and co-founded Innovative Medical Technologies Corp. After a successful initial funding round, IMT was re-named Steris in 1987 and went on to amass significant holdings in the sterilization space – not to mention market share, in large part thanks to its blockbuster acquisition of Amsco International in 1996.

Founded in 1979, Cerner makes HIT products to optimize health care providers’ operations. Its CareAware software is designed to integrate medical devices and make them “contextually aware” by connecting them with electronic medical records. Cerner products are licensed by about 9,000 facilities around the world, including hospitals, physician practices, ambulatory facilities, home health facilities and retail pharmacies.

Danaher’s dental segment makes a range of equipment and consumables , including digital imaging and other visualization and magnification systems; air and electric handpieces and associated consumables; treatment units; impression, bonding and restorative materials; endodontic systems and related consumables; infection control products; orthodontic bracket systems and lab products; and implant systems. Manufacturing facilities are located in Europe, North America and South America. Sales are primarily made through independent distributors.

Teleflex makes medical devices for critical care and surgical applications. This year the company sold off the last of its non-medical-device businesses (cargo handling and marine steering and throttle control products), making it a pure-play medical device firm. Founded in 1943 to commercialize a multi-strand helical cable and a gear that could convert push-pull motions into rotary motions, the company now concentrates
on the manufacture of medical devices used in critical care and surgery.

Nurse Elise Sørensen, concerned by the dramatic change in her sister’s lifestyle following an ostomy procedure, designed an ostomy bag in 1954 that featured an adhesive ring to prevent leakage and allow her to go out in public again. Apart from the ostomy products Coloplast still makes today, the company also manutactures urology & continence and wound & skin care products.

Hologic makes medical imaging systems and diagnostic and surgical products for women’s health care. Celebrating its 26th anniversary this year, Hologic’s offerings include products for mammography and breast biopsy, breast MRI, radiation treatment for early-stage breast cancer, cervical cancer screening, treatment for menorrhagia and uterine fibroids, permanent contraception, osteoporosis assessment, pre-term birth risk assessment, mini C-arm for extremity imaging and molecular diagnostic products, including human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and reagents for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications.

Founded as AG fu_r Elektroakustik in 1947, Sonova Holding AG was spun out of Phonak Holding AG in August 2007. The company makes cochlear implants, hearing and wireless communication systems and hearing protection products. It operates as three divisions: Phonak, Phonak Communications and Unitron Hearing.

In 1927, Bill Hillenbrand and his aunt, Mary Mitchell, set to work founding a community hospital. Hillendbrand, hoping to provide a warm yet functional patient environment, spent two years researching the design of safe wooden hospital furniture before founding Hill-Rom in 1929 – just as the Great Depression began. More than 80 years later, Hill-Rom is still in the hospital furniture business – not to mention the patient support system, non-invasive therapeutic product, medical equipment management and contract service, HIT solution and patient mobility product businesses.

Miles “Lowell” Edwards’s original vision, way back in 1958, was to build the first artificial heart. Persuaded that the project was too complex by Dr. Albert Starr, the two turned their eye toward creating an implant to replace the heart’s mitral valve. Two years later, the first Starr-Edwards valve was successfully implanted in a patient, marking the birth of Edwards Laboratories. Purchased by American Hospital Supply Corp. and re-named American Edwards Laboratories, the company was acquired by Baxter International in 1985. Baxter spun Edwards Lifesciences into being in early 2000.

The company’s flagship da Vinci robotic surgery system was first developed for the U.S. Army in the late 1980s at the former Stanford Research Institute. Although the Army hoped it would result in a remotely operated device for battlefield surgery, the commercial applications
were too compelling to ignore. Intuitive was founded in 1995 and launched the da Vinci Surgical System four years later. The FDA cleared the device for general laparoscopic surgery in 2000; FDA nods for thoracoscopic, cardiac, urologic, gynecologic, pediatric and transoral otolaryngology procedures followed. ISRG went public in June 2000 at $9 per share; today – after another IPO and the acquisition of its principal competitor, Computer Motion, in 2003 – the stock consitstenly trades above the $300-per-share mark.

The electronics giant founded its medical arm in 1949. Today, Hitachi Medical makes medical imaging equipment and provides installation and maintenance services for its MRI, X-ray, CT scanner, ultrasonic, nuclear medicine and radio therapeutic equipment. Hitachi also makes X-ray equipment for industrial applications, as well as other medical equipment and instruments and medical information systems.

Gu_nther Laukien, a German physics student, published a pioneering paper on high-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance in 1958. Two years later, now-Prof. Laukien set out to create the first impulse spectrometer based on the nascent NMR technology. Bruker Physik-AG was officially incorporated in September 1960; today, the company makes X-ray, magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy equipment. Bruker also operates an energy and superconducting business.

Synthes, which agreed to a $21.3 billion buyout by Johnson & Johnson this year, makes instruments, implants and biomaterials for the surgical fixation, correction and regeneration of bone and soft tissue and products to treat bone fractures (including metallic and osteobiological materials). The company is run along five main product groups: Trauma, spine, cranio-maxillofacial, biomaterials, power tools and veterinary. Trauma products include implants for surgical treatment of fractures; spine products consist of spinal and neurosurgical implants for back pain; biomaterials include resorbable implants and bone graft substitutes; the CMF portfolio ranges from minute screws and plates to systems for jaw reconstruction and skull closure in neurosurgical procedures.

The healthcare product conglomerate has four main divisions (vascular, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and nutritionals), plus diabetes and ophthalmic device segments. Although the vascular section
got Abbott’s blood flowing last year via its stent business and the market-leading Xience V drug- eluting stent, its pharma segment’s decline contributed some bloodletting, as Abbott revealed plans to lay off about 2 percent of its global workforce. Diabetes didn’t help either – Abbott recalled nearly 350 million blood glucose test strips near the end of 2010.
The grim news obscured solid top-line results for both the fourth quarter and full year, up 6.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. Other good news includes the Xience V clinging to its perch on top of the market, the next-generation Xience nano cobalt-chromium stent coming on strong and Abbott’s MitraClip aortic valve treatment faring well in a major study this year, showing it to be safer but less effective than surgery.

Spun out of Electrolux in 1989, Getinge makes and distributes sterilization and surgical equipment under the ArjoHuntleigh, Getinge and Maquet brands, including autoclaves, detergents and cleaners, surgical tables and lighting systems, scrub sinks and washing equipment. The flagship Getinge brand offers infection control and contamination prevention products; the ArjoHuntleigh arm makes patient mobility and wound management products; and the Maquet division provides surgical and intensive care devices.

Dra_gerwerk AG & Co. KGaA – or Dra_ger, for short – is an international company that provides an exhaustive list of products, services and systems to hospitals, manufacturing, mining, fire protection and emergency services. Products in the medical field alone include anesthesia workstations, patient monitoring, neonatal care, clinical IT and software products, medical ventilation, and medical architectural systems and lights. The company deals mainly in Europe, Northern America and Asia and dabbles in Africa, South America and Australia. The company has seen an increasing net income, partly due to the resurging economies, at 34.6 million euros in 2010 – more than 27.7 million euros in 2009, a 25 percent climb.

C.R. Bard, incorporated in 1923, makes medical, surgical, diagnostic and patient care devices for the vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty product markets. The company operates in four groups: Vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialties (with a catch-all “other” segment as well).

Fujifilm’s medical systems division is built on the company’s $2.5 diagnostic imaging technologies, including its foundational digital X-ray diagnostics business (the firm launched its first X-ray film product in
1936 and introduced the world’s first digital X-ray imaging and diagnostic system in 1983). Its brands include Fuji Computed Radiography and the Synapse digital image sharing system

Varian Medical Systems makes systems for treating cancer using radiotherapy, proton therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and brachytherapy. It was created in early 1999, when Varian Associates spun out its semiconductor manufacturing equipment business and its scientific instruments business. The company also makes software systems for radiation therapy treatment
planning and informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian also has an OEM business that supplies X-ray tubes and digital detectors to the medical, scientific, cargo screening and industrial markets.

Nipro’s medical division makes dialyzers, auto-adjusting dialysis machines, cannulas, powdered dialysate solutions and needle sets; anesthesiology devices; medical disposable devices; and pre-filled syringes, double
bag kits for drug infusion and other pharmaceutical kit products. Nipro has three other divisions as well: pharmaceuticals, glass instruments and a division that sells medical device manufacturing equipment, leases real estate and runs non-life insurance agencies

Founded in 1899 as the Dentists’ Supply Co. of New York, Dentsply makes dental consumables, laboratory and specialty products. The company renamed itself in 1969 to capitalize on the by- then popular brand it had established.
Dentsply went public in 1993 via a $590 million merger with X-ray equipment maker Gendex Corp., instantly gaining a large share of the U.S. X-ray market. After an early hiccup when one of its main distributors went bust, the company re-tooled its distribution arrangements with three outside operations. Last year, its specialty products division accounted for 42 percent of total sales. The consumables business chipped in 32 percent and lab products
23 percent. Non-dental products made up the balance.

Paul Hartmann AG makes wound management products, first aid kits and diagnostic devices like thermometers and blood pressure monitors. The company, founded in the early nineteenth century, also makes incontinence products, patient care disposables and operating room supplies.

KCI was founded in 1976 by Dr. Jim Leininger, an emergency room physician who helped pioneer the use of motion therapy for patients who are immobile due to critical injury. The company makes products for the wound care, bariatric and critical care markets. In 1996, KCI introduced an innovative approach to the treatment and management
of serious, complex wounds with negative-pressure wound therapy. Its Vacuum Assisted Closure (VAC) system is used to treat complex, hard-to-heal wounds, ulcers and partial thickness burns.

Essilor International (Compagnie Generale d’Optique) makes ophthalmic lenses, ophthalmic optical instruments and equipment via its two divisions. Sales grew 13 percent during the first quarter, as the company grabbed a 50 percent stake in China’s Wanxin $1 Optical in mid-January 2011. As recently as late June
the company was still busy inking deals, albeit thanks to an Israeli court. The District Court of Nazareth gave a green light to Essilor’s buyout of another half share, this time from Shamir Optical Industry Inc.

3M’s health care segment makes medical and surgical supplies, skin health and infection prevention products, inhalation and transdermal drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems and food safety products. In the medical
and surgical areas, 3M is a supplier of medical tapes, dressings, wound closure products, orthopedic casting materials, electrodes and stethoscopes. 3M also markets a variety of surgical drapes, masks and preps, as well as sterilization assurance equipment. Other products include drug delivery systems, such as metered- dose inhalers, transdermal skin patches and related components.

Zimmer designs, develops, manufactures and markets orthopedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants and related surgical products and provides other health care-related services. The company’s primary customers include orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, oral surgeons, dentists, hospitals, stocking distributors, healthcare dealers and, in their capacity as agents, healthcare purchasing organizations or buying groups. Zimmer manages its operations through three geographic segments: the Americas, Europe (including the Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific (including Australia)

Olympus’ medical division makes gastrointestinal endoscopes, surgical endoscopes, endotherapy devices, endoscopic ultrasound systems and medical information systems. Its focus is on minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment and product development to enhance work efficiencies at medical institutions.

Smith & Nephew operates in three business units: orthopedics, endoscopy and advanced wound care. The orthopedics segment includes SNN’s R&D into biologics, as well as reconstruction, trauma and clinical therapy products. The endoscopy business makes products
for minimally invasive surgeries to treat and repair soft tissue and articulating joints. The advanced wound care business offers products ranging from initial wound bed preparation to full wound closure. The company claims distribution channels in more than 90 countries.

CareFusion was founded as a spinout from Cardinal Health’s clinical and medical products segments. The company makes IV infusion, medication and supply dispensing, respiratory care, infection prevention and surgical instruments. Its main brands include the Alaris IV infusion systems
with Guardrails software, the Pyxis automated medication and medical supply dispensing systems, AVEA and Pulmonetic Systems ventilation and respiratory products, Jaeger and SensorMedics pulmonary products, MedMined software and surveillance services and V. Mueller surgical instruments and related products and services.

Terumo operates in four business segments: General hospital $2.0
products (which makes hospital medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, peritoneal dialysis and diabetes-related products); cardiac and vascular products (catheter systems, artificial heart and lungs and artificial blood vessels);
blood transfusion-related products; and healthcare products. Terumo set up its U.S. subsidiary last year.

Long a major presence in the orthopedic market, recent years have seen Stryker push into other areas. Perhaps most notably, it paid $1.5 billion to take on Boston Scientific’s neurovascular business in late 2010. $
StrykeralsosoldoffitsOP-1puttybusinessforpennieson $ the dollar, looking to put a disastrous off-label promotion scandal in its rear-view mirror (a federal case against the biotech business and several former executives is still pending). Investors seem to like the moves; SYK stock was up more than 16 percent year-to-date as of this writing in late May 2011. And although the BSX buyout ate into its first- quarter profits this year, sales were up 12 percent and earnings excluding acquisition costs rose nearly 10 percent.

The big news for Alcon was the long-awaited $5
consummation of its prolonged merger with Novartis, which both companies’ shareholders approved in early April 2011. Last October, the $3 company replaced its CFO in connection with the merger, installing Novartis’ financial chief. Alcon posted profits of $2.2 billion on sales of $7.2 billion, up 10 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, compared with 2009. Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez said the company hopes Alcon will do even better in this year, targeting a revenues goal of $9 billion.

Founded in 1839, B. Braun makes medical and surgical equipment via four divisions: Hospital Care (anesthesia and infusion equipment, IV solutions and catheters); Aesculap (surgical instruments, sutures, orthopedic implants); Out Patient Market (diabetes, wound care and nutrition products); and B. Braun Avitum (dialysis products). The company also operates dialysis clinics in Europe and provides contract manufacturing services. B. Braun plans to continue to operate as a family-run business, with no near-term plans to pursue a public offering.

St. Jude Medical develops, manufactures and distributes cardiovascular medical devices for the cardiac rhythm management, cardiology and cardiac surgery and atrial fibrillation therapy markets, as well as implantable neurostimulation devices for chronic pain management. STJ operates four segments: Cardiac rhythm management, cardiovascular, atrial fibrillation and neuromodulation. Although its main competitors in the CRM market, Medtronic and Boston Scientific, cited a downturn in recent quarterly earnings reports, St. Jude has picked up share in that market and pooh-poohed the negative impact of a JAMA study and a U.S. Justice Dept. probe cited by MDT and BSX as factors in the downturn.

The first pure-player medical device maker on our list has its fingers in a number of pies across the med-tech spectrum, from orthopedics to cardiology to deep-brain stimulation. There are big changes afoot in Fridley these days, what with chairman and CEO William Hawkins being succeeded by GE Healthcare honcho Omar Ishrak, a 2,000-layoff restructuring and the re-shaping of Medtronic’s relationship with group purchasing organizations (the company spiked more than
$2 billion worth of deals with GPOs earlier this year).

Baxter is looking for 2011 to be better than 2010. A costly ($600 million by some accounts) recall of its Colleague insulin pump, legal expenses and increased sales & marketing and R&D expenses pushed fourth-quarter profits down 26 percent, to $423.0 million. Full-year net earnings plunged 36 percent in 2010, to $1.42 billion, despite a top-line increase of 2 percent for the year.
That trend is forecast to continue in 2011, with sales expected to increase between 2 percent and 3 percent this year. Baxter is also looking toward its amped-up R&D operations – the company reported 14 projects in Phase III clinical trials in 2010, compared with a mere two just four years earlier. “I’m looking forward to seeing our R&D investments come to fruition in the years ahead, resulting in new products and therapies that will
improve clincial outcomes,” chairman and CEO Robert Parkinson Jr. wrote in Baxter’s annual report.

The German dialysis giant makes products for that market and also runs a network of dialysis clinics. In the U.S., it also has a toe in clinical lab testing. On the home dialysis front, it’s squared off against the upstart NxStage Medical, releasing a more portable version of its in-center dialysis sytem early this year.
Fresenius, which forecast 6 percent to 8 percent revenue growth in 2011, posted profits of $978.5 million, or $3.25 per diluted share, on sales of $12.05 billion last year. That compares with profits of $891.1 million, or $2.99 per diluted share, on sales of $11.25 billion in 2009.

Covidien emerged from the ashes of the Tyco International implosion in 2003, spun out of Tyco’s healthcare business. Since then it’s been on a strict diet, shedding non-core or slower-growing businesses and bulking up in areas where it sees opportunity.
That’s meant a host of acquisitions aimed at boosting Covidien’s footprint in medical devices, its largest segment (the company also deals in medical supplies and pharmaceuticals). Its commitment to med-tech was also in evidence when Covidien tapped its medical device unit’s leader, Jose_ Almeida, to succeed the retiring Richard Meelia as president and CEO this year.

The second pure-player device maker on our list literally has its origins in the basement of a Massachusetts church, co-founder John Abele told us last year. Boston Scientific leveraged its early lead in the catheter space into market- leading footprints in the coronary stent, endovascular, neuromodulation and cardiac rhythm management arenas.
But it’s taken years for BSX to regain its footing after its disastrous 2006 buyout of Guidant Corp. for $27 billion. CEO Ray Elliott, hired to replace James Tobin in 2009, cleaned house, announcing layoffs of up to 1,300 workers last year, shedding sales teams he sees as overstepping ethics lines and dealing Boston Scientific’s neurovascular business to Stryker Corp. (see page 21) for $1.4 billion this year (a bid to divest the pain management business never came to fruition). Having set Boston Scientific back on track, Elliott announced plans to step down at the end of 2011.

Becton, Dickinson makes medical devices, instrument systems and reagents out of three segments: BD Medical, BD Diagnostics and BD Biosciences. BDX shares hit a one-year high on Wall Street after the firm beat analysts’ expectations for the first quarter this year and announced its buyout of Accuri Cytometers. Second-quarter profits rose 4.8 percent to $312 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, on sales of $1.92 billion during the three months ended March 31, 2011.

J&J’s had a tough ride of late no matter how you slice it, issuing recalls from just about every one of its myriad businesses. Those high-profile problems were followed by a $70 million settlement of foreign bribery charges, continued declining market share for the Cypher DES made $10 by its Cordis Corp. stent division and a spate of lawsuits
over the Class I recall of its DePuy ASR hip implant.
But there’s life yet in the conglomerate the Johnson brothers started back in 1886. Always acquisitive, J&J pulled the trigger last year on a nearly $500 million buyout of cerebral vascular device maker Micrus Endovascular. And although a rumored $11 billion bid for Smith & Nephew foundered, J&J was quick on the rebound with its $21 billion union with Swiss orthopedics giant Synthes Inc. (no. 26 on our list – see page 35)

GE plants its healthcare flag in medical imaging and diagnostics – if you’ve had an ultrasound or MRI, it was
likely preformed using GE Healthcare equipment. The company also has a huge presence in the health information technology space and in the patient monitoring systems market. A rebounding hospital capital expenditure market helped GE Healthcare post 2010 sales of nearly $17 billion, up 5.5 percent over the fourth quarter of 2009.

CallSiemensHealthcare”TheDealmaker”forthe plethora of agreements it’s signed with partners spanning a variety of disciplines. Over the years, the company has branched out from its core strength in medical $5 imaging equipment to patient monitoring, mHealth, telemedicine and even hearing aids. A cursory search of
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
our archives reveals this partial list of pacts the company has inked with firms large and small, universities and even the U.S. government – all within the last two years: Accuray; BG Medicine; Boston Scientific; EndoSense; PointCare; PrognostiX; Riverain; Stereotaxis; Steris; SurgiVision;
U.S. Defense Dept.; University of Massachusetts.