When Ted, John and Dan Adams were growing up on the family farm near Austin, they never imagined they would work for large companies making medical devices their loved ones would someday use.

After growing up near Austin and attending what’s now Pacelli Catholic Schools, the three brothers went on to help make many common medical devices and share more 200 patents devices. Last weekend, Ted and John were recognized in the Pacelli Hall of Honor Awards.

Initially, Ted and John went into aerospace engineering, and Dan started as an engineer for Onan Corp. But after changes in the aerospace economy, Ted and John moved to the medical field, shortly followed by Dan.

“And once we got in medical we stayed in medical devices all our lives,” John said. “All three of us.”

“The amazing thing is we all ended up in cardiology electronics,” Dan added.

The brothers grew up on the farm with their sisters, Janet, Marilyn and Jeannie. John remembers the three boys were always tinkering with something.

“We always were kind of playing around with technical or mechanical things when we were growing up, but not so much medical,” John said.

Ted recalled building transistor radios, and Dan remembered a bicycle that was amped up with a power source to make it similar to a motorcycle. But much of the building and creating came from necessity.

“Back then farming wasn’t as profitable as now, and so everything we had was old machinery that was always breaking down,” Ted said. “So you had to figure out how to fix it, and nothing came easy.”

Ted, the oldest brother, thought he would become a farmer, and with 200 sheep and farming equipment at high school graduation, it looked plausible. But a teacher pushed him to go to college and become an engineer.

None of the brothers imagined they would work in the cardiovascular business or make medical devices, but their careers led them many places.

“It was kind of interesting because we were all in the cardiovascular business, and being in that business we all went to the same trade shows, and we ended up meeting each other all over the world at these various trade shows,” Ted laughed.

“Even in Europe,” John agreed.

Medical accomplishments

Ted is most proud of developing the first implantable defibrillator, starting the SurvivorLink company, building a company that restores hearing, creating a powder that clots blood, and designing the earliest, more sophisticated pacemakers.

“Some of our patents and designs are still in use today in virtually every pacemaker made, so that’s a pretty big accomplishment,” Ted said.

John is most proud of his work with the automatic defibrillator and his work with Shockwave Medical Inc. to help elderly patients suffering from circulation problems in the legs. But what was most important to him was doing work that would help people.

“I always thought it was important that whatever you’re doing, to work on something that makes a difference,” John said. “And to have fun, and working on medical devices, you get both. And sometimes you make money and sometimes you don’t.”

Dan said the highlight of his career was working at Boston Scientific, because he helped build the organization, though he never thought he would get into the medical field. He was proud to have helped create devices that his own family members now use. Both his sister and brother have Boston Scientific stents.

“It’s very satisfying to know that you’re helping a lot of people have a treatment that is much less invasive than regular surgery,” Dan said. “That was very rewarding to know that you’re helping people.”

Ted started about six different companies and John started about eight. Dan helped in the early years at Boston Scientific and left in 2000 to consult with other companies.

“For us, I don’t know if we get bored with it, short attention span or what, but the first opportunity to leave I always left and did another one,” Ted said.

John went to the University of Minnesota Technical Institute to get his degree in engineering. He followed his brother into the medical devices career, and for a while Ted and John worked for the same company. Other times, they also worked as direct competitors.

Although Dan attributes his start in the medical business to his brothers, Ted said they never talked about business much, and he didn’t think they influenced each other much over the years.

“It’s more coincidence than anything else that we all ended up running major R & D operations,” Ted said.

Ted said if someone hopes to start their own business, it’s important to know the business before putting much into it.

“Work for somebody else in that business first, so you really understand it,” Ted said. “I do think it’s good to work for a big company first, so you understand how things are supposed to work, and then when you start your own company you at least have a framework of how things are supposed to be.”

John agreed, saying it’s not easy and it’s time consuming. It also takes a lot of money to start a business, which Ted noted requires investors.

“The more experience, the better you are in it, the easier it is to attract investors,” Ted said. “And without money you can’t do anything.”

Despite the hard work, John said the work was fun and it was worth it.

Life lessons on the farm

All three brothers attributed much of their work ethic to the family farm. One life lesson that stood out to John while growing up was getting things accomplished.

“On a farm you don’t stop working until it’s done, and that’s probably a pretty good life lesson,” he said.

Dan agreed.

“We learned a lot of things on the farm that I think were key to our success in life,” he said.

Mostly retired now, the three brothers enjoy various hobbies, from building planes and racing boats to playing golf. John is still a consultant for some businesses.