Emfit Ltd. was founded in 1990 in Kuopio, Finland. The starting point of our business was the Emfit film invented by our company founders. Through extensive product development, Emfit film has become the technological foundation of our company. In 1993, Emfit began a cooperation with the Finnish State Technical Research Centre (VTT). This mutually beneficial partnership generated extensive resources that enhanced core technology research and development.
Our first decade was a very busy one. As Emfit sales and staff grew, our sensor design and manufacturing unit was relocated in 1998 to Vaajakoski in Central Finland, near the town of Jyväskylä. Both hardware and software development remained in Espoo next to the capital of Helsinki. Emfit’s Chairman and primary owner, Heikki Räisänen, a forward-thinking entrepreneur and experienced expert in Emfit sensors, headed the company from 1998 until April 2009. Emfit then welcomed Teuvo Heikkilä from Nokia as our new Managing Director to allow Heikki Räisänen ample time to focus on export sales and new applications development.
The technical cornerstone for Emfit was the development in the late 1990’s of our patented high pressure gas diffusion expansion (GDE) technology. Within the past ten years, developments have included reel-to-reel manufacturing technology of large area L-series and ribbon type R-series sensors.
In 2000 we began development on application electronics using digital signal processing that were first used for elderly care and soon afterwards for Epileptic seizure alarms and non-body-contact vitals signs monitoring. The first Epileptic seizure alarm was introduced in 2003. This important and innovative system quickly received an influx of positive feedback from users and remains one of our best selling products. As of 2010, close to ten thousand alarm systems are in active use throughout the world. In addition to care applications, we also develop and are involved with numerous custom embedded electronics projects for various industrial clients.
Since 2003 our application development focus has been purely on vital signs and bed monitoring applications such as bed exit and epileptic seizure alarms. In 2004 we introduced our non-body-contact vital signs monitoring in the Finnish innovation centre, Heureka. A lounge chair with hidden sensors astonished visitors by having the ability to calculate an individual’s heart rate and respiration, and then transfer this data to a nearby display. We then demonstrated our first version of our DVM (Discreet Vitals Monitoring) software at a Medica exhibition back in 2005.
In 2006, we moved a portion of our R&D department to Frankfurt, Germany. This decision enabled Emfit to become more involved with various research and development projects using our sensor technology in central Europe. Emfit Corp, our subsidiary for sales and logistics for North America, was founded in 2006 and is located in Austin, Texas.
Today, Emfit’s primary focus is on care applications with a significant concentration placed on creating new sales opportunities with our networked passive vitals monitor. Our world-wide distribution network has ensured a steady increase in sales of core products, and several thousand units are sold annually. For many years, much of Emfit’s profit was directed back into research and development and improving existing systems. Over the last few years, our growth rate and profit margin has increased substantially, and we look forward to continued, rapid growth with the networked (IP) non-contact vitals monitoring system.
For the future, Emfit plans on venturing into ultra sound applications. We have been working closely with many research institutes focusing on ultra sound research over the past few years. Emfit material has been found superior as an ultra sound transmitter and receiver and has recently been featured in several research publications. We now look forward to new business opportunities in this area.
