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Nihon Kohden Corp

A Japanese maker of medical electronics, Nihon Kohden builds brainwave (EEG) machines, bedside patient monitors, heart recorders and defibrillators used by hospitals around the world. Engineer Yoshio Ogino founded it in 1951 after a bird-muscle experiment inspired him to unite medicine and electronics under the motto "Fighting Disease With Electronics"; its name pairs "Nihon" (Japan) with "Kohden," meaning light and electricity. Fun twist: in 1972 a company researcher invented pulse oximetry, the fingertip clip that now checks oxygen levels in hospitals everywhere.