The semiconductor microchip shortage that ravaged myriad industries through the pandemic has made it increasingly difficult for medical device producers to develop products necessary for their customers’ well-being.
The companies that make computer chips—most of them clustered in Asia—have ramped up production while scrambling to fill orders from their largest customers. That has made purchasing chips exceedingly difficult for smaller companies. One of those niche buyers of chips is ResMed, a San Diego-based company…
“Medical devices are getting starved here,” the company’s chief executive, Michael Farrell, said in an interview. “Do we need one more cellphone? One more electric car? One more cloud-connected refrigerator? Or do we need one more ventilator that gives the gift of breath to somebody?”
ResMed has struggled to buy enough chips, Mr. Farrell said, constraining its ability to make a range of vital equipment—from ventilators used by Covid patients to breathing devices that sustain premature infants.
Read the full article at the New York Times.
