How one engineer’s vision shaped the future of precision sensing technology.
In 1969, Huntly Millar, alongside Dr. Bill Hall, designed Millar’s first catheter tip transducer as they flew a small plane through the night sky above Arizona.Throughout his life, Huntly would fondly recall this moment as the spark that ignited his passion for solving the complex pressure measurement challenges faced by physicians and researchers. Today, his legacy and spirit of relentless innovation live on as Millar and Sentron work to provide ground-breaking sensor solutions for medical, industrial and environmental technologies.
It’s tempting to say, “from such humble beginnings, a company was born.” But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Millar wasn’t just a bold new venture. It was the product of deep experience and relentless curiosity — and it was technically Huntly Millar’s third medical device company.
His first company, E&M Instruments, emerged from his time at Baylor College of Medicine’s biomedical engineering department, where he worked with Dr. Les Geddes. Their team developed groundbreaking technologies, and it was Dr. Geddes who encouraged Huntly to commercialize his inventions. The most well-known of the products was the Physiograph, one of the first multi-channel chart recorders with multiple plug-ins for easily changing the function of the channels. Eventually E&M Instruments attracted the attention of the Narco Corporation, which was interested in entering the medical business. A deal was struck, and E&M instruments became Narco Biosystems.
After a few successful years, Huntly decided it was time for something new again. He left Narco and started Millar Instruments Inc. in his garage in 1969. In 1971, he rented the first office space in one of the Houston Office Center buildings, and by 1987, the company had expanded to take up all three buildings, which were then purchased.
Millar Instruments was founded in Houston, Texas, pioneering catheter-based, high-fidelity pressure sensors for cardiovascular research.
In 1971, Huntly rented the first office space for the company in one of the Houston Office Center buildings, where he and the team innovated and developed many firsts, such as the first 15" pressure velocity catheter, the first 9F-size catheter-tip transducer, and the first clinical-use catheter for cardiovascular pressures.
In the 1980s, establishing trust was crucial as Millar began to expand its research applications. During this time, the company created the first right heart catheter, the first non-invasive pulse-wave tonometer, and the first 2F (0.66 mm) catheter. Soon, they had expanded to all three buildings of the Houston Office Center.
Excellence comes from thinking like the customer. In the 1990s, Codman and Millar worked together to develop the Microsensor® ICP Transducer. It wasn’t known at the time, but this was the start of Millar OEM solutions. Over the next decade, Millar introduced two new catheter pressure transducers for pre-clinical research.
Throughout the 2000s, Millar was learning how to think bigger and develop smaller. Enter the first 1F mouse pressure catheter. During this decade, Millar also developed the Pressure-Volume (PV) Loop System, the first commercial PV analysis package, and the first small and large animal PV systems with control software.
With collaboration at the core, Millar recognized that greatness can’t be achieved alone. The 2010s included the development of the Mikro-Cath®, the Millar Telemetry System, the inception of a strategic partnership with ADInstruments, the transformation of the Millar brand, and the creation of the OEM Solutions division.
During this decade, Millar is focused on bringing OEM breakthroughs to life. In addition to full device design, the OEM team integrates MEMS sensors into various devices in both acute and chronic applications. After more than 55 years, Millar has a new home in Pearland, Texas, that is over twice the size of its previous location off the Gulf Freeway. In 2023, Millar acquired Sentron, a Netherlands-based sensor company known for full-bridge pressure, ISFET-based pH and EC sensors, expanding our capabilities and markets.
Millar is a global, vertically integrated strategic partner and contract design and manufacturing organization (CDMO). With advanced capabilities in pressure, pH, EC, ORP and temperature sensing technologies, we support innovation across medical and industrial markets. Backed by decades of engineering excellence and a sensor microfoundry, Millar enables OEM partners to bring breakthrough sensing solutions to life, from concept to commercialization.
Huntly Millar was deeply hands-on, equally comfortable engineering a new product or jumping onto the production floor to guide and teach. Whether he was explaining a new idea, a prototype, or just something fun he built and wanted to show off, he loved seeing the spark of understanding in someone’s eyes.
Trade shows were one of his favorite arenas. At the Millar booth, Huntly wasn’t just selling; he was teaching, inspiring and reconnecting with colleagues, cardiologists, students and old friends who stopped by to see what was new.
Humbled by the respect Millar products earned in the medical community, Huntly took great pride in their contribution to science and patient care. Today, Millar brings Huntly’s relentless spirit into everything we do, advancing precision sensing across medical, industrial, environmental and research applications around the world.
Image note: Huntly Millar is shown on the far right.
The relationship between Millar and Dr. Joseph Murgo spans decades and is rooted in passion for innovation and the advancement of medical science. During this special fireside chat with Millar CEO Tim Daugherty, Dr. Murgo recounts memories of his medical career, his friendship with Huntly Millar, and his vision for the future state of medicine.
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