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'Gynepunks' DIY Gynecology For Underserved Women

Posted by Soulskill on from the if-you-want-something-done-right dept.

New submitter Alien7 sends an article about a group of bio-hackers who are out to bring DIY gynecological medicine to women who don't have easy access to it. Under the name GynePunks, they're assembling an arsenal of open-source tools for DIY diagnosis and first-aid care—centrifuges made from old hard drive motors; microscopes from deconstructed webcams; homemade incubators; and 3D printable speculums. ... So far the work is largely focused on diagnosis, and members of the collective are quick to note that what they’re creating is far from a comprehensive solution. It’s limited by some obvious factors—access to materials, a place to put them together, and the time to do it. But where the infrastructure does exist, and people are motivated to do so, it is very possible to establish some useful alternatives for self-care. As an example, Klau pointed to a pilot vinegar test program that’s lowered cervical cancer deaths by some 31 percent among poor women in Mumbai’s slums.

59 comments

  1. How things have changed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Not that long ago we would have an article about using a few lenses from old telescopes and microscopes to make a webcam.

  2. Re:Ambitious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It should be obvious.

    Killing is easy. Keeping people healthy takes a bit more work.

  3. What? by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're worried about people being able to afford a speculum (they cost about $0.90 each at retail) so we're ... suggesting they just fire up their handy 3D printer?

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    1. Re:What? by BenJeremy · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sure, it might take a while to print it out, but they can always chill drinking their organic double mocha latte and reading on their iPad Air tablet while it prints

      Now stop talking sense, you. Practicality and critical thinking gibberish have no place when hipsters are out to save the world!

    2. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course. You couldn't call yourself GynePunks otherwise, and that wouldn't be any fun at all.

    3. Re:What? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      they cost about $0.90 each at retail

      A day's wages in some places. The community printer can make a bunch to give away... Oops! I know what you're thinkin'... Those damn commies are at it again! Pretty sneaky, huh?

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    4. Re:What? by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      I do have to admit, I do wonder about some of these projects.

      Still, I think their actual goal is to cater to people who might have more access to a 3-D printer than a doctor, so presumably the value is in the instructions on how to conduct and properly evaluate tests, not the actual speculums.

      Since this is LGBTQ-related, I am guessing that they have trouble finding doctors to serve them more often, rather than poverty itself being the major issue. The thing about Mumbai was to illustrate the value of simplified testing to a certain underserved grouping. As usual, the summary was somewhat deceptive.

    5. Re:What? by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      "The community printer". Because when a bunch of people making a dollar a day pool their resources, they decide to buy a 3D printer. What about the materials to make things, how much do the refills go for?

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    6. Re:What? by fredgiblet · · Score: 1

      Less than the cost of what they can make with it. Keep in mind that for a lot of these places it's not a matter of hopping onto Amazon and having it shipped to you 2nd day for free with Prime. A lot of people in developing nations have to put a LOT of work in to get supplies, the 3D printing supplies can be bought in bulk and made into whatever they need.

    7. Re:What? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Well, you know, a doctor with his bag of tricks could wander by and give a hand. In a country like India, with its heavily suppressed wages, there has to be a demand that the government fill in (yeah, I know, commies). Of course that same popular demand could fix a whole bunch of much more basic problems, but what the hell, start small.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    8. Re:What? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Or, any one of these enterprising hipsters could drop a note to the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, who could arrange to buy 10,000 of them wholesale for a tenth of that amount and have them delivered along with all of the supporting supplies and a commitment from an actual trained professional to show up and train people on how to use them. And they'll still work when there's no power for that ridiculous 3D printer (which, by the way, isn't going to make something like that with anything CLOSE to a smooth enough, or sterile enough surface to be appropriate to the task).

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:What? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      And they'll still work when there's no power for that ridiculous 3D printer

      Oh shit! *Solar panels not included*? Send it back! Damn vulture capitalists... They should just open a 7/11 and sell speculums there. Buy two, get one free..

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    10. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd like to know if a 3D printer can even make a thousand of these things before it requires expensive part replacement. Would it not be cheaper to make these with a mould? Or is this one of those "how can we work a 3D printer into the solution"

    11. Re:What? by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Well, if they throw in the phrase "on a computer", they can patent the whole process, including making $20 microscopes from $90 webcams.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    12. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not even close to true on price, otherwise manufacturing would be thousands of 3d printers. notice how no one is doing that for production parts.

      I know this because i do rapid prototyping for a living. One of the things i do most is make tooling for the manufacture of plastic parts.

      Also how do you figure that a mesh of abs will be strong enough or smooth enough? do the poor have to have their vaginas sawn by bad printing? I love my 3d printer but I'd be dammned before i shoved a printed piece of easily breakable ABS up my ass. That shit is way too rough, i'm getting a hemorrhoid just thinking of it.

      -Captain.

    13. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're worried about people being able to afford a speculum (they cost about $0.90 each at retail) so we're ... suggesting they just fire up their handy 3D printer?

      Yes. It isn't just the price of the speculum, it is the logistics to get it there. These are people who can't just hop in the car and rive to the nearest CVS.

      A speculum is just a speculum, but one printer in a village is any item the printer can make and the exact right amount of those items. So logistically you only have to worry about sourcing and shipping the printer and its raw material. No overages, no underages.

    14. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > And they'll still work when there's no power for that ridiculous 3D printer

      Its called a diesel generator -- the most common source of electricity in the villages of the 3rd world.

      > isn't going to make something like that with anything CLOSE to a smooth enough, or sterile enough surface to be appropriate to the task

      Because there is no alcohol in the 3rd world.

      Its always great to hear from the stupid brigade - lets make up stupid reasons why something can't work rather than figure out smart ways to make it work. Once upon a time guys like you were busy telling everybody how airplanes couldn't fly because they couldn't flap their wings.

    15. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjCtHTevX4jdrmwTHQA3LOQ

    16. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The filament, maintenance and electricity consumed by the 3D printer will be way more expensive than just buying a speculum, way more expensive. And then again, instead of buying a 3D printer, buy a bunch of metal speculum (10 times as expensive but reusable; the plastic ones, printed or otherwise, are one use only) to use by the community. It's a seriously stupid idea, and you can't fix stupid. You can make better choices, though.

    17. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Believe me, if you can't buy a speculum easily (via mail in a worst case scenario) you won't be able to get your hands on a 3D printer. If the logistics of buying a bunch of speculum are difficult, a 3D printer is literally impossible.

    18. Re:What? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      So, you're intending to use the alcohol to melt the surface of the filament-printed medical devices so that they aren't abrasive? Or will you also be shipping sandpaper, polishing compound, etc., along with the other materials, to leverage these absurdly slow-to-make rough pieces of plastic you intend to insert into women?

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    19. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depends on how you look at it. What if $0.90 is too much what if you can get the cost down to about $0.10? And what if the printer is not the patents but the doctors. Another advantage is the necessary amount of sterile storage. if you only need to store one multi use product it's easier than storing a complete array of different materials.

      The area's where these are being considered are the same areas where micro loans are common. Where $20 to $500 can get you through an entire year. What needs to be considered here is that 3D printers are being used more and more for medical purposes. So it's not inconceivable to several cities to invest in one printer to drive down area costs, then each of them can get quality tools at a mere fraction of the cost. Sometimes they can get them at no cost at all when a large company just donates an old product to them. Just because we survive solo here in the US, doesn't mean the rest of the world does. What constitutes poor here is rich elsewhere. I mean we have a YouTube channel called does it blend, where you can watch the guy blend things like iPhones. Our world is insanely rich compared to theirs.

    20. Re:What? by Overand · · Score: 1

      Is there a speculum-maker in your neighborhood? No? How about someone with a 3d printer? It's not just about affording things, it's about availability. Because, you know, there's this thing where *some* aspects of women's health are illegal now?

  4. Some things shouldn't be DIY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Health care is not something you really want to DIY.

    First aid is fine (go ahead, wash the cut and apply a bandage).
    But lab tests, diagnosis, etc. can literally be a matter of life and death.
    Certified products and licensed providers are the way to go.

    "But isn't something better than nothing?"
    Not always. Not if you get a false positive on a problem that doesn't exist, and then start taking steps that make a real problem (that you missed) even worse.

    Universal health care for all human beings everywhere on the globe, or bust.

    1. Re: Some things shouldn't be DIY by dirtyhippie · · Score: 2

      Wow, do you really think access to slightly flawed health care is worse than *none* at all? That's simply amazing.

    2. Re: Some things shouldn't be DIY by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Hmmm, who to agree with about health care. An Anonymous Coward, or a Dirty Hippie.

      Decisions, decisions.

      ;^p

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    3. Re: Some things shouldn't be DIY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Slightly flawed?" Go prop open your relevant orifice with some coarse non-medical grade plastic, and let us know how the infection's treating you in a week.

  5. Title is confusing by fey000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does it say un-deserved or under-served?

    This is like the website address for Expert's exchange.

    1. Re: Title is confusing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obligatory Caitlyn Jenner joke. He typed in Expert's Exchange. But got Expert Sex Change.

    2. Re:Title is confusing by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Therapist finder
      Pen Island

      and so on.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    3. Re:Title is confusing by sconeu · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'll take Anal Bum Cover for $1000, Trebek!

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    4. Re:Title is confusing by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Saw a comment long time ago about a guy who bought a new video card for his workstation. He sent the receipt to payroll to be reimbursed.

      The lady there didn't think it was appropriate he was being reimbursed for VIAGRAPHIX, as the receipt showed.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    5. Re:Title is confusing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try convincing a tax auditor that the book "Joy of LaTeX" is related to your documentation work.

  6. Jeb's right about it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We spend way too much on women's health care and clearly Planned Parenthood isn't doing much of it anyway.

    Let's just outsource it.

  7. Re:I'm not a gynocologist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I give free exams!

  8. Pics by TeknoHog · · Score: 0

    or it didn't happen.

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  9. I can help! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was an amateur gynecologist all through college as a part time hobby. I've got a t-shirt that proves it.

  10. Re:I'm not a gynocologist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps a useful addition would be to crowdsource the examinations?

  11. How bad is it when... by digsbo · · Score: 1

    It seems so obvious that basic law enforcement, economic develop, and educational reform would fix most of these kinds of problems, that I'm forced to wonder how awfully bad government corruption is that going to these extremes seems a practical choice for the people doing it.

  12. Excellent Application for Mr. Cook and Apple Watch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Although Apple Inc.'s Mr. Cook is Gay and his Apple Watch is a bust, he could still theoretically deal his Apple Watch back into the tech game by building a Apple Dildo (Bluetooth) for Apple Watch.

    Then he could boost that he has actually been with a woman, sort of, theoretically that is.

    Ha ha

  13. I don't get it... by kenh · · Score: 1

    ...and 3D printable speculums

    There is a large, unservered population of women without access to a gynecologist but do have access to a 3D printer?

    --
    Ken
    1. Re:I don't get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...and 3D printable speculums

      There is a large, unservered population of women without access to a gynecologist but do have access to a 3D printer?

      It's applicable to 3rd world countries or states that have access to 1st world technology. Like Texas, Indiana, Wisconsin, Utah... pretty much any of the Red States in the USA that have successfully made it far more difficult for women to get access to health care.

    2. Re:I don't get it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably.

      You're talking about a place where working in an outgoing call center is a job you're lucky to have, not the one you get because you burt all the bridges when you rage-quit high school to focus full time on your rock band.
      It's a lot easier to buy a 3-d printer than to keep someone who can make gynecologist money living in the shit-hole community, and buying the equipment likely would be a $.10 for the item $20 to get it shipped, that would have to come out of a call center salary or worse.

  14. Never trust something that bleeds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    For 7 days and doesn't die.

  15. that's my old chat-up line... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I'm not a professional gynecologist but I'll certainly take a look at it for you."
    (sometimes said while holding the printed side of a CD to my forehead)

    1. Re:that's my old chat-up line... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      "I'm not a professional gynecologist but I'll certainly take a look at it for you." (sometimes said while holding the printed side of a CD to my forehead)

      I'm just guessing but you're still a virgin aren't you?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  16. Re:I'm not a gynocologist by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

    Sounds like it should be a Staff Pick on Kickstarter.

    --
    If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  17. I never associated hardware hacking by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 1

    hobbies with observing a real, live vagina (that was consenting to be seen). Guess I learned something new today.

  18. I got a better one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.penisland.net/

    No matter what you think it's not a pawn site

    Captcha: jackass

  19. NOP. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    3D printed speculums? Well, that's dumb! They don't have access to tools that cost less than 1$ but they have access to 3D printers? Someone needs to rethink this one..

  20. Help? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WTF is 'decolonizing the female body'??

  21. A cheaper solution by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    Recruit and train 8th grade boys?

    They'll do it for free, anytime, any place.

    Plus, speaking frankly, the close-up reality of "modes of failure" in that equipment will likely turn them off sex entirely for years, lowering teen pregnancy.

    --
    -Styopa
  22. Re:I'm not a gynocologist by tehcyder · · Score: 1
    I knew a guy who was a semi-retired gynecologist.

    He worked one day a week just to keep his hand in.

    *rimshot* (oops)

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  23. A different song. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Original song: http://www.guitaretab.com/l/lo...
    But now:
        My old man's a gynecologist,
        He wears thin rubber gloves.
        He plays with womens' fleshy parts,
        'Coz that's the job he loves.
    BTW, this version has hand gestures, too.