Respironics founder passes away 

PITTSBURGH – Gerald McGinnis, who founded Respironics in 1976 and developed the CPAP and BiPAP machines, passed away on Jan. 25. The bio-engineering pioneer, inventor and entrepreneur passed away peacefully in his sleep after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease just a few months shy of his 90th birthday. According to his obituary: “He began his career at Westinghouse in Research and Development. In 1963, he became manager of the Bioengineering Department, which launched his career in medical product development. In 1969, he joined Allegheny General Hospital as head of the Surgical Research Department, conducting research on artificial hearts. In 1971, he founded his first company, Lanz Medical Products, in his home. His first two devices were a ceramic anesthesia mask and a tracheotomy tube developed using his family’s kitchen stove as a kiln. His overarching goal was always the comfort of the patient. While developing his own company, he served in the Critical Care Department at the Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh, participating in programs to offer technological solutions to medical problems. He founded Respironics in 1976 and developed the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) and BiPap (bilevel positive airway pressure) machines used for supplemental oxygen, infant apnea monitors, asthma treatment and hospital ventilators. As an entrepreneur, Jerry had learned first-hand the need to find the right problem to solve and the emerging awareness of sleep apnea disorder provided him with his ultimate arena. Respironics became an industry leader in sleep apnea therapy and earned the honor of being named the 5th Best Private Company by Forbes Magazine just before it went public on the Nasdaq Exchange in 1987. In 2007, the company he founded was the target of a takeover by Royal Philips Electronics and, ultimately, became Phillips Respironics.”