Company History
ADInstruments was established in 1988 to deliver high quality, ease-of-use data acquisition systems for life science research and teaching. The company has experienced rapid growth since this date. This page outlines some of the key milestones and achievements.
1985: The MacLab Masters Project
An early model MacLab with bio & bridge amplifiers.
Our history begins in 1985 when Michael Macknight developed the 'MacLab' recording unit and 'Chart' and 'Scope' software as part of his Masters degree in Computer Science.
The idea for the project came from the Physiology Department at New Zealand's University of Otago, who weren't happy with the performance of their old paper chart recorders and smoke drums. Realizing the potential of early Macintosh computers (featuring a graphical user interface), they asked Michael to develop a computer-based system to replace their paper-based ones.
In 1985 Michael built the first MacLab - an analog to digital converter that connected to a Macintosh computer. He then developed two software packages - Chart (chart-recorder software) and Scope (oscilloscope software) - which provided software control of the recording unit as well as a range of display and analysis features.
1988: ADInstruments Begins
Boris and Michael promoting ADInstruments at a
conference in the late 1980s.
In the early days, Michael manufactured MacLab systems for the New Zealand market only. In the late 1980s he met Boris Schlensky, an Australian with an interest in data acquisition and expertise in electronic engineering. Boris saw the potential of the MacLab system and agreed to cofound ADInstruments, and manufacture the products for the world market.
Boris, Michael and their teams set out to develop the premier computer-based data acquisition system in the life science market.
1997: MacLab to PowerLab
Original PowerLab logo.
In 1997, we released our first data acquisition system for Windows computers. The hardware unit was named PowerLab, and was distributed with Chart for Windows 95 software.
In 1998, our entire range of data acquisition units became both Mac and Windows compatible. The cross-platform data acquisition systems were named PowerLab.
1998: Celebrating 10 Years by Opening ADInstruments US
ADInstruments staff and distributors attending our 2007 Worldwide Conference in Heidelberg, Germany.
By 1998 we had opened a US office to better service our now large customer base. 1998 also saw the opening of our first office in China, as well as the continued success of our established offices in the United Kingdom and Japan.
2005: The LabTutor Revolution Sparks
A page from the Respiratory Air Flow and Volume LabTutor experiment in Japanese.
Although PowerLab systems were already part of many of the world's best life science courses, our software developers were looking for a way to make experiments easier for educators to implement and easier for younger and less experienced students to complete. A page from the Respiratory Air Flow and Volume LabTutor experiment in Japanese.
The result was LabTutor software for PowerLab systems. LabTutor is now used by community college, nursing and health science students, as well physiology, pharmacology and medical students. Experiments have been translated into six different languages, and are now available in five different subject areas.
2008: 20th Anniversary
In 2008, we celebrated our 20th Anniversary (1988-2008). Read our Chairman's 20th Anniversary message. We marked the event with the introduction of a new generation of software for use with PowerLab including LabChart, LabChart Reader and LabAuthor. We opened new offices in Brazil and Malaysia, expanding our global network to more than 50 countries.
2009: Exciting New Products
Today there's an installed PowerLab user base of more than 30,000 systems, which is supported by a network of ADInstruments offices and distrubutors in over 50 countries around the world, making us the largest data acquisition company for life science. Our large team of qualified representatives share a common commitment to providing excellent training and support to all customers, everywhere.
Our research and development team continues to develop powerful products for life science and education to meet new and evolving needs.
