Defibtech
Company: Defibtech, LLC, Guilford, CT
Company Description: Defibtech relentlessly pursues one goal: making the best automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the world at affordable prices. Defibtech designs and manufactures the FDA-approved Lifeline™ and ReviveR™ brand AEDs and related accessories.
Nomination Category: Company, Office & Product Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Overall Company
Nomination Title: Defibtech
1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Defibtech was founded in 1999 with the goal of making Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) affordable and easy to use. AEDs provide life-saving defibrillation during sudden cardiac arrest, one of the leading causes of death in North America.
In 2003 Defibtech began selling the Lifeline AED. By 2005, in its third year of sales, Defibtech had become the fastest growing AED company on the market.
Three achievements in 2005, made Defibtech particularly proud:
July 2005 - Defibtech won the largest public access AED deployment contract in AED history. The State of New Jersey chose the Lifeline AED to be deployed in fire and EMS emergency vehicles and in various public buildings. To date, more than 3,000 AEDs have been deployed in New Jersey.
November 2005 - Defibtech won the bid to be the exclusive supplier of AEDs to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino. The 148 AEDs purchased for the Olympic Games were distributed throughout the Olympic venues in Torino and in neighboring towns in Italy’s Piedmont region.
December 2005 - The Defibtech Lifeline AED was chosen to be exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. The Defibtech team was very excited about being included in the show “SAFE: Design Takes On Risk”, which gave a public face to the personal pride that the team has in their work.
Defibtech accomplished these achievements in its third year of sales, competing in an arena dominated by large medical device companies like Phillips and Medtronic. Defibtech was able to become a respected player in this highly competitive market by bringing a high-quality AED into the market, which sold for half of the cost of other AEDs.
Defibtech developed the fully featured, affordable Lifeline AED by forming a team of engineers that included designers with not only experience in medical equipment design, but also a background in high-tech high-volume consumer products. This wide variety of skills and experience allowed Defibtech to leverage techniques that are not typically known to design groups in conventional medical device companies.
By introducing the Lifeline AED onto the market, Defibtech drove the price of AEDs down. The affordable price made widespread deployment of AEDs a reality; a reality that saves more lives.
Defibtech CEO, cardiac surgeon Dr. Glenn Laub, in an interview with US 1 Magazine, explained the importance of widespread AED deployment, “As a heart surgeon I’ve probably operated on more than 300 patients a year for the last 18 years. But by deploying more defibrillators and making them cheaper and easier to use, we can save more than 50,000 lives a year across the country, more than every person who dies in a traffic accident every year. I can save more lives by deploying defibrillators than I can in the operating room.”
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Medical Device Excellence Award:
http://www.devicelink.com/expo/awards/awards/
http://www.defibtech.com/news/2005_0614_mdea.html
http://www.defibtech.com/news/2005_0406_mdea.html
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20050501.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20050500.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/news/awards.html
New Jersey Contract:
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20050705.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20050707_1.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/news/2005_0830_njorder.html
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20050707_2.pdf
Olympic Contract:
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20060209.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20060224.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20060210.pdf
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA):
http://www.defibtech.com/news/2005_1025_moma.html
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2005/safe/
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20051001.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20051201.pdf
Lifesaving Medical Device:
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20060106.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20041127.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20050929.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20040415.pdf
http://www.defibtech.com/presskit/downloads/FirefighterLifesavers.pdf
CEO Quote:
http://www.defibtech.com/downloads/articles/20060301.pdf
Defibtech Website:
http://www.defibtech.com/index.html
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:
The co-founders of Defibtech are cardiac surgeon Dr. Glenn Laub and engineer/businessman Gintaras Vaisnys. Glenn and Gintaras became friends in college at Yale. Glenn graduated with a medical degree and eventually became the Director of the Heart Hospital at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, NJ. Gintaras gained an engineering degree and went on to found a number of technology companies. Over 25 years later the two college friends came back together to combine their expertise. Glenn and Gintaras brought together the best of both of their worlds to found the fastest growing defibrillator company in the market.