Category Archives: regulation

Making the Case for Open Source Medical Devices

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Fernando Gomes

Engineering for medical, automotive, and aerospace is highly regulated. It’s not difficult to see why: lives are often at stake when devices in these fields fail. The cost of certifying and working within established regulations is not insignificant and this is likely the main reason we don’t see a lot of work on Open Hardware in these areas.

Ashwin K. Whitchurch wants to change this and see the introduction of simple but important Open Source medical devices for those who will benefit the most from them. His talk at the Hackaday Superconference explores the possible benefits of Open Medical devices …read more

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Posted in medical devices, Medical hacks, news, open hardware, open soruce, patient monitor, regulation | Leave a comment

Surfboard Industry Wipes Out, Innovation Soon Follows

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

For decades, Gordon Clark and his company Clark Foam held an almost complete monopoly on the surfboard blank market. “Blanks” are pieces of foam with reinforcing wood strips (called “stringers”) in a rough surfboard shape that board manufacturers use to make a finished product, and Clark sold almost every single one of these board manufacturers their starting templates in the form of these blanks. Due to environmental costs, Clark suddenly shuttered his business in 2005 with virtually no warning. After a brief panic in the board shaping industry, and a temporary skyrocketing in price of the remaining blanks in existence, …read more

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Posted in industry, innovation, Interest, regulation, surfboards | Leave a comment