That’s the first thing I said when this was first posted, all those people who had the implants that enabled sight are left with no parts and no support since the company went under.
There should be laws in place stating these companies will provide support and parts for the entire life of the users. Anything less is criminal.
Be careful what you ask for and how any laws are written. I knew a guy who became a paraplegic after a helicopter accident. He actually walked away from the accident but months/years later damage to his lower spine caused a blood clot that rendered him largely unable to use his legs.
He was wheelchair-bound when I met him, but one day a few years down the line I walked into a room to find him standing & walking. He told me he had even been able to climb a ladder to replace a light bulb. He’d been on a medical trial that was clearly promising. Unfortunately side effects piled up, he had to stop the trial, and he again ended up in a wheelchair.
Granted this wasn’t the same as a medical implant trial, but if strict laws are enacted that required companies to support medical devices, drugs, etc. then I’d be very afraid of the impact it would have on research and trials like these. No company is going to want to risk lawsuits, etc. so they’ll just stop innovating, or at least cut back a huge amount.
That’s the first thing I said when this was first posted, all those people who had the implants that enabled sight are left with no parts and no support since the company went under.
There should be laws in place stating these companies will provide support and parts for the entire life of the users. Anything less is criminal.
I would add open plans and open source so that if anything happens with the company another company can come in and pick up support easily.
How do you go about enforcing this when the company goes under? (Almost like healthcare shouldn’t be private lol)
Open Source required when going bankrupt for all biomedical companies?
Be careful what you ask for and how any laws are written. I knew a guy who became a paraplegic after a helicopter accident. He actually walked away from the accident but months/years later damage to his lower spine caused a blood clot that rendered him largely unable to use his legs.
He was wheelchair-bound when I met him, but one day a few years down the line I walked into a room to find him standing & walking. He told me he had even been able to climb a ladder to replace a light bulb. He’d been on a medical trial that was clearly promising. Unfortunately side effects piled up, he had to stop the trial, and he again ended up in a wheelchair.
Granted this wasn’t the same as a medical implant trial, but if strict laws are enacted that required companies to support medical devices, drugs, etc. then I’d be very afraid of the impact it would have on research and trials like these. No company is going to want to risk lawsuits, etc. so they’ll just stop innovating, or at least cut back a huge amount.
Better to mandate open hardware and software standards, so if the company goes under others can make parts or even upgrade the devices.