How Defibtech Was Born

July 1, 2023

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Defibtech has grown into a leader and innovator in medical technology, deployed products all over the world, and has helped save the lives of many, but how did it all start? The history of Defibtech is truly in line with our mission to increase survival from sudden cardiac arrest.

The Idea

The idea of Defibtech started with two Yale University graduates. Dr. Glenn Laub was sitting in his office one day when someone came in and tried to sell him an AED. Dr. Laub was astonished by the high cost of this important piece of lifesaving technology. He called his friend Gintaras Vaisnys, an engineer, to see if they could work together to get this important piece of lifesaving equipment into people’s hands at a lower cost.

In 1999, Defibtech was officially formed by Dr. Laub and Mr. Vaisnys. They hired their first employee, lead engineer Giovanni Meier who was based on the Shoreline in Connecticut and an office was opened above a local pizza shop.
 

The LIfeline AED

 
It took a few years, but in 2002 the FDA granted clearance to start marketing the Lifeline AED. Just a year later, in early 2003, the first Defibtech products were shipped to a domestic distributor. The list of distributors carrying Defibtech products started to grow. Later that year Defibtech headquarters moved to a professional office park complex and the first international shipment of AEDs was sent to a distributor in Italy.
 

Gaining Traction 

Defibtech quickly started to grow and impact people all over the world. In 2005, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) invited Defibtech to exhibit the Lifeline AED. This product has been awarded numerous product design excellence awards. In 2007, Defibtech was named the fastest growing medical equipment company in North America by Deloitte.  

Further growth of the company was inevitable and in 2012, Defibtech signed an agreement to be acquired by Nihon Kohden Corporation, a Tokyo based medical device company. Defibtech also entered the EMS market in 2015 when the first Lifeline ARM was shipped. The Lifeline ARM is an automated chest compression machine.

More Recently

Defibtech has continued to expand with headquarters based in Guilford, CT along with manufacturing facilities in Branford and North Branford, CT. The company employs about 150 people now who are based all over the world. Defibtech has also shipped over 550,000 AEDs worldwide.

We have continued to grow our family of AEDs to include not only our Lifeline AED, but also our Lifeline VIEW AED, Lifeline VIEW ECG AED, and Lifeline AUTO AED. Earlier this year, the ARM XR was released, which included updates and improvements to our automated chest compression machine.

Although the company has certainly grown, our goal and values have stayed the same. Defibtech strives to design and manufacture the world’s best defibrillators, and other resuscitation devices, at affordable prices. Defibtech values the customer, the employee, and the world-wide community. Ultimately, our mission is to increase survival and help save more lives from sudden cardiac arrest!

To learn more about Defibtech and to join us on our quest to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest, visit www.Defibtech.com.