The pioneer of fingertip pulse oximetry marks four decades of noninvasive patient monitoring and looks toward connected care solutions for sleep medicine.
Key takeaways:
- Nonin Medical is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026, marking four decades since its founding in 1986.
- Todd Austin, a registered respiratory therapist and seasoned clinician-executive, has been appointed as the new CEO.
- The company plans to expand its connected care offerings, including its cloud-based data platform Nonin Health, to support personalized sleep and respiratory care.
Nonin Medical, a global manufacturer of wearable and noninvasive patient monitoring solutions, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026. Alongside this milestone, the company has appointed Todd Austin as chief executive officer to guide its next phase of growth in integrated, connected health solutions.
Founded in 1986 by engineer and entrepreneur Phil Isaacson, Nonin introduced the world’s first fingertip pulse oximeter in 1995. This miniaturized technology expanded accessibility in patient monitoring. Over the past four decades, the company’s technology has become embedded in sleep laboratories, home health settings, and hospitals in more than 125 countries. In sleep medicine, Nonin’s pulse oximetry provides data that clinicians rely on for diagnosing and managing obstructive sleep apnea.
“From the very beginning, our goal was to give clinicians data they could depend on without question. Trust is earned through consistency, evidence, and performance. For four decades, every product we have ever built starts and ends with those standards,” says Phil Isaacson, founder and executive chairman of the board, in a release.
Isaacson will continue to serve as executive chairman and chief technology officer.
To lead the company into a future of decentralized and digitally connected care, Nonin appointed Austin as CEO. A registered respiratory therapist, registered pulmonary function technologist, and neonatal-pediatric specialist, Austin has a background spanning clinical care and commercial leadership. His previous roles include leadership positions at SensorMedics, VIASYS Healthcare, CareFusion, and serving as president and CEO of MGC Diagnostics.
“Nonin was a familiar part of my clinical work long before I ever imagined leading the company. As a clinician, you learn very quickly that accuracy is not a feature; it’s a responsibility. Forty years of trust is something you protect fiercely, even as you push forward with the next wave of innovation,” says Austin, in a release.
Austin’s vision centers on expanding Nonin’s hardware foundation with integrated software solutions as healthcare shifts toward connected, home-based models. This includes Nonin Health, a cloud-based data platform designed to turn accurate, dependable SpO₂ data into actionable clinical insights across various care settings.
“Our legacy of accuracy is strong. Our future of innovation is even stronger. What excites me most is the shift toward proactive, connected care that can reach patients wherever they are, and the recognition that its success depends on one fundamental principle: the data must be accurate, reliable, and accessible. For 40 years, that has been Nonin’s standard. As care becomes more connected and more personal, that foundation becomes even more critical,” says Austin, chief executive officer, in a release.
Throughout 2026, Nonin will celebrate its anniversary with initiatives focused on the future of noninvasive monitoring. As personalized monitoring strategies evolve, the company aims to ensure these emerging models in sleep and respiratory care remain built on dependable data and individual patient baselines.
