His electrical engineering education continued, and he obtained a Master's degree with a minor in mathematics, also from the University of Minnesota.

[3] Post-World War II hospitals were just starting to employ electronic equipment, but did not have staff to maintain and repair them.

Sensing an opportunity, with his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie, he formed Medtronic (a portmanteau of "medical" and "electronic") in a small garage, primarily working with the University of Minnesota hospital.

Four weeks after finding a circuit diagram for a metronome in Popular Electronics, Bakken delivered a battery-powered transistorized pacemaker about the size of a few decks of cards to Dr. Lillehei.

After successfully testing the hand-made device in the laboratory, Bakken returned to create a refined model for patients.