Medtronic's Physio-Control unit indefinitely suspended shipments of external defibrillators and other emergency-response gear because of quality-control problems at a factory in Redmond, Washington. The suspension will address weaknesses in "the overall quality system" in the Redmond factory that were identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the company, Medtronic spokesman Rob Clark said. The quality issues are related to manufacturing processes and not any individual products, he said. No products are being recalled. The halting of product shipments means that Medtronic will delay the spinoff of Physio-Control as an independent public company, which had been planned for mid-2007.