this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
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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.

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[–] exanime@lemmy.world 13 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Right to repair NOW!

Medical devices should be either supported for life (with money on escrow to support it) or provided with all schematics, manuals and spare parts

Non paywalled article

https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24255074/former-jockey-michael-straight-exoskeleton-repair-battery

[–] Abnorc@lemm.ee 51 points 1 day ago (3 children)

For a $100k device, I would expect better long term support.

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[–] tabular@lemmy.world 373 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (30 children)

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 123 points 2 days ago (2 children)

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 46 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

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.

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[–] penquin@lemm.ee 154 points 2 days ago (7 children)

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.

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[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 40 points 1 day 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.

[–] Toes@ani.social 36 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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

[–] helenslunch@feddit.nl 11 points 2 days ago (5 children)

These companies don't give a single shit about shame. They care about money.

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[–] mesamunefire@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

The CPAP lockout is something I went through. The company behind my CPAP does not allow you to get ANYTHING off the device. But there is an SD Card that you can get all the info you want from your old system. Its arbitrarily locked out.

You are also unable to repair anything on the device without insurance getting involved. And insurance is often at OEM prices (think 200+ for a basic mask). Thankfully, people have illegally added STLs/chips/parts/etc... online that you can basically reverse engineer the entire device nowadays. As long as you use medical safe materials, it saves you literally thousands of dollars. Ive replaced quite a few parts and the device is still working after many years of usage.

[–] Buttons@programming.dev 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Like anything medically related in the US, it's our time to crack open our wallets and do our patriotic duty of paying half the nation.

Like, if I want to talk to a doctor for 5 minutes, then it's my time to pay the all the insurance industry workers, and I have to pay my part of those 3 minutes long drug commercials you see on TV every ad break and before every YouTube video, and I have to pay all those people locking down the medical devices so that the users can't use their own data. This is my time to shine, I got to pay for all this because I talked to the doctor for 5 minutes. Also, hopefully in the end I have a few cents left over to give to the doctor.

Fucking rent seekers...

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[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 days ago

I agree, 404 is legit journalism. No org is perfect, but they're as good as it gets.

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

As its paywalled I can’t see the article and any pictures clearer, but from the image shown isn’t that those tiny battery packs you can use for RC drones etc? Because those things are dirty fucking cheap, I would be furious if that was a $100,000 charge.

[–] ensoniqthehedgehog@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

I searched the specs on the battery, and the same exact battery with leads already soldered to it came up from quite a few different sources. Some of them had a small white 2-pin connector, I'm not sure if it would be compatible with the green one that is on the battery in the article, but it would be an easy fix for somebody into electronics (even with parts and tools off Amazon, if not DigiKey or something). All that said, it's still bullshit the company is still around but isn't supporting a 10 year old $100,000 mobility device relied on by someone who is disabled. The headline makes it sound like he's screwed though, and that's hardly the case. This is an easy fix.

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago

I think the entire exoskeleton is $100k not the battery.

[–] Wilzax@lemmy.world 119 points 2 days ago (6 children)

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.

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[–] cmrn@lemmy.world 110 points 2 days ago (10 children)

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.

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[–] BrightCandle@lemmy.world 79 points 1 day 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.

[–] omarfw@lemmy.world 72 points 1 day ago (10 children)

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

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