Paging Dr. MacGyver: Maker Movement Comes To Medical Gear

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 16, 2014 @01:07AM from the get-me-an-avocado-an-ice-pick-and-my-snorkel dept.

eggboard writes "The maker movement has started to rapidly turn to medical gear, especially in developing nations. The early results are quite marvelous, but there are a ton of concerns, too. The pace of change is incredibly fast. From the article: '[Many people] without any without any formal medical training—can take advantage of access to global supply chains, cutting-edge medical knowledge, and recent leaps in design and fabrication technology that have made the prototyping process faster, cheaper, and simpler than ever before. Even as concerns about safety and liability are only starting to be addressed, medical inventors and other technical tinkerers are already improving and saving lives—sometimes their own.'"

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"Concerns" by Azghoul · 2014-01-16 01:55 · Score: 5, Insightful

You can always tell the entrenched interests are getting worried about their bottom line when "concerns" start appearing.
"How DARE they build a prosthetic with a cheap 3D printer!?" "But it might be DANGEROUS!"
No, you are just scared that your ridiculous profit margins might get a haircut, and use regulation and FUD to increase the barrier to entry into "your" market. This is a great story and should be lauded by all, not tainted by the fishy smell of the concern trolls.