David Mortara

David W. Mortara (born July 4, 1941 in Indiana, United States) is an American businessman, inventor, and engineer known for founding Mortara Instrument, Inc. in 1982, a former leading company in diagnostic cardiology and electrocardiography (ECG) technology.^[2] Mortara has made contributions to the development of medical devices, particularly in the areas of ECG interpretation, digital ECG, and signal processing.^[3]

David W. Mortara was born in Indiana and graduated from Milan High School in 1958.^[4] Mortara earned a BSc from Purdue University in 1961, MS in 1963 from University of Illinois and PhD in physics at Purdue University in 1966.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} His later work was in medical device engineering and innovation. From 1966 to 1973, Mortara served as a faculty member at the University of Illinois, where he contributed to research and education in physics.^[8][10]

Mortara served as the manager of research and development and later as vice president of engineering at Marquette Electronics, a company later acquired by GE Healthcare. During his tenure, he developed the simultaneous 12-lead ECG acquisition system and interpretation algorithm, which became a cornerstone of modern ECG technology and is still widely used in diagnostic cardiology. His innovations at Marquette laid the groundwork for his future entrepreneurial ventures.^[7][10]

In 1982, Mortara founded Mortara Instrument, Inc. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.^[11][10] The company initially produced medical devices for Marquette Electronics and other firms but transitioned to selling its own branded electrocardiography equipment. Under Mortara’s leadership, the company developed a line of ECG products, including resting ECGs, Holter monitors, cardiac stress testing systems, telemedicine and ambulatory blood pressure monitors. Mortara Instrument grew from a small startup to an international leader in diagnostic cardiology, with operations in Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.^[7][8][12]

In 2017, Mortara Instrument was acquired by Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. for $330 million.^[7]

David Mortara holds 20 U.S. patents related to electrocardiography and medical device technology. His inventions include systems for monitoring electrode conditions and measuring muscle activity signals alongside ECG data.^[13][14]