“Most people on Planet Earth simply do not have the money or the insurance to gain access to the high-tech equipment and specialized physicians enjoyed by the wealthier strata. The little devices Gómez-Márquez champions are low-cost alternatives designed for ubiquity.”
“The Next Generation of Medical Tools May Be Home-Brewed”
Nice article that tracks the trend of garage biomedical tech.
This is the next logical evolutionary step in medicine with the development of ubiquitous computing capability, convenient embedded programming, connectivity with smart phones/tablets, 3-D printing, internet collaboration, etc. vs. insurance / hospital costs and availability plus what large medical manufacturers charge for biomed equipment that can be obscenely expensive for price vs capability. (though granted, a lot of that cost is for liability insurance, high level manufacturing standards and the process of getting FDA approval)
JAG “Surgery by Lego Mindstorms” MAN
Home brewed medical tech would be cool, especially in remote and under served areas. I wonder how it would do in the US with the preponderance of big Pharm and regs.
Sean,
Home brewed medical tech would be cool, especially in remote and under
served areas. I wonder how it would do in the US with the preponderance
of big Pharm and regs.
Here is an older article that may help answer some of that with regard to GE Medical and a concept known as Reverse Innovation:
The bottom line is that the big corporations realize that if they don’t come up with the “just good enough, but much less expensive medical equipment” then someone in their garage here or overseas will beat them to the punch. Cuba actually has a fairly thriving pharm industry just as biotech is booming in Ireland.
JAG “Bionic Eyes Wholesale at Costco” MAN