Type Public Industry Medical diagnostics Website www.microlife.com Founded 1981 | Traded as TWSE: 4103
GTSM: 4103 Headquarters Taipei, Taiwan Founder K.Y. Lin | |
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Products Blood pressure monitors
Digital thermometers
Asthma monitors Subsidiaries Malacca International, Biddeford Blankets, LLC | ||
Microlife Corporation (Chinese: 百略医学科技股份有限公司) is a medical diagnostics company that specializes in the development and manufacture of blood pressure monitors, digital thermometers, and peak flow meters. Microlife is currently the world's largest manufacturer of digital medical thermometers and a major provider of electronic blood pressure monitoring devices. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and maintains international divisions throughout the world.
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History
Microlife was founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 1981 by Kin-Yuan (K.Y.) Lin. It was known as the "Micro Idea Instruments Co." upon its founding. Its first product was a digital medical thermometer and, in 1985, the company added blood pressure monitors to their product line. A branch office was opened in Switzerland in 1996, and the first office in the United States was opened the following year. In 2002, Microlife acquired Maine-based Biddeford Blankets. Four years later, the company acquired the Golden, Colorado-based medical diagnostic equipment manufacturer, HealtheTech. That same year, Microlife was awarded the Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Differentiation Innovation. In 2007, Microlife was one of numerous medical companies to be included in Microsoft's HealthVault.
In 2009, the company became the first medical diagnostics manufacturer to produce a blood pressure monitor that detected both hypertension and atrial fibrillation (both of which are warning signs for stroke). Microlife entered into a partnership with PharmaSmart in 2012 in an effort to reach more consumers in the United States in need of personal blood pressure management devices. In 2013, Microlife received the Red Dot Design Award for its A6PC blood pressure monitor with stroke detection. They also received the award for Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership from Frost & Sullivan. In 2015, Microlife won a German design award for its A6PC blood pressure monitor with stroke risk detection.
The company teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a cost-effective blood pressure monitoring device (3AS1-2). The device is designed for use in low- and middle-income countries. It has been used in countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.
Products
Microlife offers a variety of different medical and diagnostic products all of which use the "Swiss Design" brand concept. The logo of Swiss Design is a specific identification of the parent brand Microlife. Some of the company's most prominent products include:
Technology
Microlife's blood pressure monitors and the technologies they house have been the subject of numerous studies and have been validated for both clinical and home use. One of Microlife's technologies is the atrial fibrillation detection incorporated into their blood pressure monitors. Their WatchBP Home A device was recommended by the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2013. WatchBP Home A was recommended to be used for hypertension monitoring and atrial fibrillation screening in primary care, using the device in primary care could increase the detection rate of atrial fibrillation compared with taking the pulse by hand. Microlife also patented the "Microlife Average Mode" (MAM), which is a feature in the blood pressure monitors that takes three consecutive readings and creates an average from that data. Pulse arrhythmia detection (PAD), which is another feature in some Microlife blood pressure monitors that automatically detects irregular heartbeats, is another one of the company's primary technologies. Over their lifespan and their different iterations, Microlife blood pressure monitors have been validated by the British Hypertension Society with their highest rating (AA).