Gerald McGinnis
Gerald McGinnis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gerald Edward McGinnis March 17, 1934 Ottawa, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 25, 2024 (aged 89) |
| Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BA in mechanical engineering, 1958) University of Pittsburgh (MA in mechanical engineering) |
| Spouse |
Audrey Lanz (m. 1961) |
| Children | 3 |
Gerald Edward McGinnis (March 17, 1934 – January 25, 2024) was an American inventor and businessman who founded Respironics, a medical device company which sold the first mass-produced CPAP machines.
Born in Ottawa, Illinois, McGinnis studied mechanical engineering and eventually became a researcher for Westinghouse Electric while working on his master's degree at the University of Pittsburgh. He also researched endotracheal tube replacements at Allegheny General Hospital, eventually leaving in 1971 to create the medical device company Lanz Medical Products. After selling the company, McGinnis founded another medical device company called Respironics in 1976. In the early 1980s, the company developed a CPAP machine called the SleepEasy, receiving FDA approval in 1984. The machines were a commercial success and helped establish Respironics as a major player in the medical device industry.