Northgate Technologies has a rich history of innovation, designing and manufacturing minimally invasive products and devices. 1984 Northgate Technologies Inc. is born as the R&D company Trutek Medical, dedicated to creating an extracorporeal shockwave lithotripter. 1988 Trutek Medical becomes Northgate Research. 1990 Northgate Technologies Inc. is formed to develop and market Class II medical products for Urology and General Surgery. 1991 Northgate designs and applies for its first patent for the revolutionary product—the high flow (15 LPM) insufflator. This private label product is the first to be marketed for minimally invasive surgery to some of the largest medical companies in the industry. The patent is granted in 1994. 1992 Northgate completely redesigns sister company Monaghan Medical’s intracorporeal electrohydraulic lithotripter product with updated spark gap technology.  The product is re-introduced as the Autolith® bipolar Intracorporeal Electrohydraulic Lithotripter (IEHL®).  Northgate also launches the first 1.9 Fr. Lithotripsy probes, enabling easier access to stones in the upper ureter and kidney.  1994 High-volume manufacturing for minimally invasive medical devices and sterile disposable probes and tubing sets begins at Northgate’s new 18,000 square foot facility in Elgin, IL. 1996 Breakthrough products are launched to aid laparoscopic surgeons during complex surgical operations. The first 20 lpm insufflator, the Omniflator®, allows faster flow rates and a re-usable CO2 gas warming product reduces the effects of hypothermia. 2000 NTI introduces True Abdominal Pressure (TAP™) sensing technology that provides uninterrupted flow of gas to maintain a robust and consistent pneumoperitoneum. 2005 Two new products,  for Virtual Colonoscopy and GI procedures, are developed and marketed through an OEM partnership. 2008 Innovation and growth leads to the construction of a 35,000 square foot facility at Northgate’s current location in Elgin, IL. The company continues its development of high tech products for Urology, General Surgery, Gastroenterology and Virtual Colonoscopy. 2013 Northgate is named one of the Chicago area’s most innovative companies by Crain’s, averaging over one patent or patent application for every year in business. Northgate develops two new products: a 50 liter insufflator, the first in the industry; and a lithotripter generator with a graphic interface programmed to display operating parameters in 11 different languages. 2017 Northgate continues its leadership role in developing and marketing minimally invasive devices for stone management and surgical environments. The company has over 29 patents and 20 plus pending patent applications, along with new product concepts in its growing product portfolio and pipeline.