HEART BEATS DOCUSERIES

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"Heart Beats" is a five-part docuseries that explores one of the most incredible industry origin stories in global business history.

• Pilot Episode: 1957 Halloween Blackout.

• Episode 1: Medical Alley is Born.

• Episode 2: Roller Gardens, Fishing Hooks, Entrepreneurs.

• Episode 3: Creation of the Most Powerful Industry on Earth.

• Episode 4: The Future. 

 

In the heart of the Midwest, Minnesota's Twin Cities—known for their cold winters and warm communities—became the unlikely birthplace of a global medical technology revolution. This quiet transformation began in the 1950s with post-war optimism and innovation. At the University of Minnesota, engineers and doctors collaborated in new ways. Among them was a young electrical engineer named Earl Bakken, whose small garage tinkering would soon change the world.

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On Halloween night in 1957, a city-wide blackout plunged Minneapolis into darkness, leaving the University of Minnesota Hospital in chaos. With pacemakers plugged into wall sockets, the outage left young heart surgery patients without vital support. Deeply shaken, pioneering heart surgeon Dr. C. Walton Lillehei flagged down Bakken the next day, urging him to design a battery-powered, portable pacemaker. Bakken drew inspiration from a metronome circuit he'd seen in Popular Electronics, creating a device that revolutionized cardiac care and set Medtronic on its path to becoming a global leader.

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Minnesota's "Medical Alley" grew from this spark. Founded in 1984 by Bakken, 3M's Lee Berlin, and Governor Rudy Perpich, the region quickly became the world's most innovative healthcare hub, hosting giants like Medtronic, Boston Scientific, and the Mayo Clinic. Minnesota's "Medical Alley" was dubbed the healthcare equivalent of Silicon Valley, its success rooted in unique collaborations among scientists, entrepreneurs, and medical professionals dedicated to advancing humanity's ability to care for itself.

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At the heart of the medical device industry are countless small, family-run businesses quietly innovating in lifesaving technologies. With unexpected catalysts like a fishing hook and a roller-skating rink, these Minnesota pioneers built an industry defined by purpose,

impact, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, solidifying the region as a global beacon of medical innovation.

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Credits:

• Executive Producer: David Whitman

• Executive Producer: Sarah Flowers

• Executive Producer: TBA

• Executive Producer: TBA

• Executive Producer: Diem Van Groth

• Director: Diem Van Groth

• Writer: Diem Van Groth

• Producer: David Massey (Academy Award Nominated Director, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame)

• Producer: Diem Van Groth

• Cinematographer: Kevin Smith (JFK, Heaven and Earth, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, and Any Given Sunday)

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Special Thanks:​​

• Location: Bakken Museum

• Background: University of Minnesota Medical School’s Experimental Surgical Services

• Story Review: David Massey

• Interview Cinematographer Consultant: Kevin Smith

• Interview Production Designer and Art Director: Jose Herrera

• Interview Sound: Mike Sound

• Production and Cinematography Services: Bravebird