776

Apologies for posting a pay walled article. Consider subscribing to 404. They’re a journalist-founded org, so you could do worse for supporting quality journalism.

Trained repair professionals at hospitals are regularly unable to fix medical devices because of manufacturer lockout codes or the inability to obtain repair parts. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, broken ventilators sat unrepaired for weeks or months as manufacturers were overwhelmed with repair requests and independent repair professionals were locked out of them. At the time, I reported that independent repair techs had resorted to creating DIY dongles loaded with jailbroken Ukrainian firmware to fix ventilators without manufacturer permission. Medical device manufacturers also threatened iFixit because it posted ventilator repair manuals on its website. I have also written about people with sleep apnea who have hacked their CPAP machines to improve their basic functionality and to repair them.

PS: he got it repaired.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] omarfw@lemmy.world 12 points 1 hour ago

corporations are a problem we need to solve as a society.

[-] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 24 points 2 hours ago

any company who locks medical device repair should be burned to the ground. and dont bullshit me about liabilities bla it is more likely cash grab which they get in the form of "extra care packages" or exorbitant repair prices charged after the guarantee period ends.

[-] orl0pl@lemmy.world 8 points 1 hour ago

Line must go 🆙

[-] BrightCandle@lemmy.world 54 points 4 hours ago

A right to repair is long overdue but more than that when it comes to medical devices it's obvious battery replacement is going to be necessary and should be user accessible.

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 47 points 8 hours ago

Corporations are a fucking curse.

[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 31 points 9 hours ago

Update: He temporarily gained the ability to walk again after touching a spinning steel ball, despite the recovery not lasting he will still be competing in upcoming cross country horse race.

[-] cmrn@lemmy.world 94 points 13 hours ago

Keeping repairs locked into your system of parts/techs can at least feign “safety” or “quality”.

But essentially just refusing to repair is an absolute fuck you.

I’ve started choosing the companies I use based much more on the experience offered when their product/service DOESN’T work, rather than when it does.

[-] RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works 37 points 8 hours ago

I’ve started choosing the companies I use based much more on the experience offered when their product/service DOESN’T work, rather than when it does.

Easy to do for a cell phone or a toaster, but I can't imagine there's a ton of options for exosuits that correct your condition, covered by your insurance, that your doctor is familiar enough with to prescribe (for lack of a better term).

Some things are annoying to make abandonware, and some things should be criminal.

[-] T156@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago

And it doesn't preclude the company just deciding your product is no longer worth supporting/going bankrupt.

It might have been fine and seemingly trustworthy to begin with, and then it stops, a few years down the line.

[-] fossilesque@mander.xyz 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Don't buy a Google Pixel. I'll never get one again because of this. They wanted 250£ to even look at it so I got a new cheap Samsung out of spite.

[-] fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works 9 points 9 hours ago

Right it begs the question.

Is me not receiving care or having access to care REALLY better for me?

If the answer can't clearly be yes, then they are just choosing to make me ill or kill me for their perceived interests.

[-] Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg 10 points 11 hours ago

For me it's a mix of what you said and how they treat their employees/where they're making the product.

I spend extra time trying to find higher priced, higher quality, more fairly manufactured products.

[-] roofuskit@lemmy.world 6 points 10 hours ago

That latter requirement is usually a good indicator of the former requirement. Companies that take care of their people typically end up making quality products.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] tabular@lemmy.world 318 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

The manufacture should have zero say if their product gets repaired or not. The only person who can give permission to repair it is the owner. It should be illegal to implement tying to lockout parts being used as a replacement. Right to repair

They call it jailbreak because this is an issue of freedom: software freedom

[-] dgmib@lemmy.world 103 points 16 hours ago

They call it jailbreak because this is an issue of freedom

I support your position and the right to repair, but that’s not the origin of the term jailbreak in the context of computing.

The term jailbreaking predates its modern understanding relating to smartphones, and dates back to the introduction of “protected modes” in early 80s CPU designs such as the intel 80286.

With the introduction of protected mode it became possible for programs to run in isolated memory spaces where they are unable to impact other programs running on the same CPU. These programs were said to be running “in a jail” that limited their access to the rest of the computer. A software exploit that allowed a program running inside the “jail” to gain root access / run code outside of protected mode was a “jailbreak”.

The first “jailbreak” for iOS allowed users to run software applications outside of protected modes and instead run in the kernel.

But as is common for the English language, jailbreak became to be synonymous with freedom from manufacture imposed limits and now has this additional definition.

[-] tabular@lemmy.world 35 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Thanks for the history and technical explanation. I didn't mean to imply that was the origin (for computing) and was only talking about a specific usage of the word.

I think most people say it to refer to manufacture imposed limits but I wanted to promote a broader usage. That using proprietary software is like being in a jail because your software freedoms are denied.

[-] fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 10 points 3 hours ago

Oooo healthy online discourse. Where's my popcorn...

[-] AmbientChaos@sh.itjust.works 1 points 18 minutes ago

Lemmy is such a rad place, I love it here

load more comments (24 replies)
[-] penquin@lemm.ee 134 points 17 hours ago

This is what Louis Rossmann has been screaming and fighting about for years. It's the most fucked up shit ever. It is affecting our food supplies and we are not paying attention to it.

[-] Comexs@lemmy.zip 4 points 10 hours ago

Here is a some what related video, $200000 to Mobility Independence Foundation; Thomas Quiter's guide through the wheelchair industry - Louis Rossmann. It a pretty long video at 1 hour and 11 minutes but I felt it was worth the watch because my unfamiliarity with the topic.

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] Wilzax@lemmy.world 103 points 17 hours ago

Medical device manufacturers also threatened iFixit because it posted ventilator repair manuals on its website.

What the fuck is wrong with people. Anyone who opposes the right to repair for MEDICAL DEVICES is irredeemable.

[-] A7thStone@lemmy.world 39 points 15 hours ago

Education and healthcare should never be for profit.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[-] Toes@ani.social 35 points 16 hours ago

The right to repair is such an obvious good in the world that those opposed to it should be publicly shamed.

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 40 points 17 hours ago

Absolutely hate this shit.

load more comments (8 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
776 points (98.3% liked)

Technology

58269 readers
4971 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS