Neuromancer 2022

The collapse of a startup leaves implanted medical devices in > 700 people

The unavailability of the proprietary SW needed to recalibrate the devices and maintain its effectiveness, and the draining of batteries, will leave them without treatment and with HW implanted in their bodies

They have to hack their own implants

And it is not an isolated case but a trend

https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-022-03810-5/index.html

Abandoned: the human cost of neurotechnology failure

When the makers of electronic implants abandon their projects, people who rely on the devices have everything to lose.

@pheras “Möllmann-Bohle, meanwhile, turned to skills he developed as an electrical engineer. In the past three years, he has repaired a faulty charging port on the hand-held portion of his device and replaced its inbuilt battery several times. This battery was never intended to be accessible to the user, and it turned out to be unusual. Möllmann-Bohle scoured the Internet and eventually found suitable replacements made by a firm in the United States. When he returned for more, however, he learnt that the company had stopped making them. His most recent replacement came from a Chinese company that custom made what he needed.“

this not only says a lot about Intellectual Property™®© and its lack of ethics, but also about how hard preserving right to repair is anyway… society still has a long way to learn

@xerz @pheras I wouldn't sleep at night implanting something lifelong into someone that can't be serviced. These companies don't care about the user, just money. Once the initial transaction is over, it's the customer's problem.