Fitbit may be known more for its fitness-tracking devices, but the company is shifting its supply chain to manufacture emergency-use ventilators in the fight against COVID-19, CEO James Park told CNBC.
The company is submitting its technology to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the coming days, Park said. A team started working on the ventilators after consulting with physicians, including at Massachusetts General Brigham and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).
“There was a lot of concern about the shortage of ventilators and we realized we had expertise already around the supply chain,” said Park.
In the U.S., hospitals in some states experienced severe ventilator shortages in March as hospitals rushed to treat the first waves of Covid-19 patients with severe breathing problems. However, the country is facing a surplus of ventilators right now as industries responded to calls from President Trump and other leaders to build more, according to the Associated Press.
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