MarmosetDec 12, 2022

From @pluralistic:

"Earlier this year, many people with Argus optical implants – which allow blind people to see – lost their vision when the manufacturer, Second Sight, went bust.

"Nano Precision Medical, the company's new owners, aren't interested in maintaining the implants, so that's the end of the road for everyone with one of Argus's 'bionic' eyes. The $150,000 per eye that those people paid is gone, and they have failing hardware permanently wired into their nervous systems.

"Having a bricked eye implant doesn't just rob you of your sight – many Argus users experience crippling vertigo and other side effects of nonfunctional implants. The company has promised to 'do our best to provide virtual support' to people whose Argus implants fail – but no more parts and no more patches."

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/12/unsafe-at-any-speed/#this-is-literally-your-brain-on-capitalism

Pluralistic: Orphaned neurological implants (12 Dec 2022) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Show threadScotchfairy

@Marmoset @pluralistic And the next company you'll likely hear about is MediTech. They make a variety of implants, including cardiac ones meant to help people survive the transplant waiting list. The FDA just recalled that one last weak for safety issues.

Proprietary software is a heinous problem with medical equipment, where devices were often made by tiny specialist companies who don't have enough expert programmers to push out software ir firmware upgrades for hardware that *must* work.

Dec 12, 2022 at 11:47pmWeb
Show threadTin Bee 🥫🐝Dec 12, 2022

@scotchfairy

"Have you tried turning it off and on again...?"

@Marmoset @pluralistic

Show threadCory DoctorowDec 13, 2022

@scotchfairy @Marmoset Do you mean Medtronic? They're pretty terrible. I've been writing about them for years:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/medtronic/

medtronic – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Show threadScotchfairyDec 13, 2022
@pluralistic @Marmoset yeah. I should know better than to try & post when my hand & brain are fried.
Show threadJinsheiDec 13, 2022
@pluralistic @scotchfairy @Marmoset they also make deep brain stimulation devices.
Show thread  Dec 13, 2022
@pluralistic
My wife tried out their insulin pump for a couple of months. She hated it so much that when they told her the insurance doesn't allow replacing it with a different model, she chose to have no pump at all until the warranty on the thing expires, which takes four years. We're still waiting.
@scotchfairy @Marmoset
Show threadKaraOhkiJan 7, 2023
@pluralistic @scotchfairy @Marmoset Oh my. I had no idea. I stopped using my mini med when I lost my insurance. When I was properly insured again, I was shown several pumps at my endo’s office, and ended up with a Tandem. It took years for Medtronic to stop calling me. No, I am not going back.
Show threadBrandtDec 14, 2022
@scotchfairy @Marmoset @pluralistic I think that what's needed is that firmware for lifesupport, medico and similar devices must be either open source or that the most recent unlocked, unencrypted version at all times is kept by the relevant authorities eg FDA or what they may be in other countries. This will help small companies to remain and attract investors so we do not risk having to rely on 'big corp' or public funded companies only
Show threadBrandtDec 14, 2022
@scotchfairy @Marmoset @pluralistic oops..by public funded companies I obviously mean government funded..... :-)
Show threadBrandtDec 16, 2022
@scotchfairy @Marmoset @pluralistic i've been thinking about this. There's a dark horse in the room. When we talk about keeping firmware available we also need to discuss hardware. Is it viable to accept proprietary hardware or 'hobbyist' types? It my be worth noting that I work as an Automation Engineer with pharma as main focus. In this environment FDA is a major factor, which is good, but even when using SIemens or AB hardware we run in to issues with obsoletion
Show threadScotchfairyDec 16, 2022
@brandt_ @Marmoset @pluralistic Hurray. My husband briefly worked as a contractor for Amgen maintaining their adverse reaction reporting system software. And that was simple compared to the software for compounding and administering drugs. Infusion/mixing pumps for newer antibiotics and anesthesia drugs are expensive for hospitals to keep up to date.
And DNA synthesizers have had hacked back doors for botnets & crypto mining.
#medical #devices #InternetOfShit
Show threadBrandtDec 16, 2022
@scotchfairy @Marmoset @pluralistic yup. And then we've not even begun talking about fake/hacked PLCs bought on ebay because of delivery shortness