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This is certainly cool and I love my Craftbot 3d printer. However, one has to mention the problems with using 3d printed devices like this. This is not to tear
by monkmartinez 7y ago
This is certainly cool and I love my Craftbot 3d printer. However, one has to mention the problems with using 3d printed devices like this. This is not to tear apart the project, but I would hope valid criticism. Medical gear like this is commodity stuff that is actually very inexpensive. I do think 3D printing will democratize the really expensive medical equipment, but we are not there yet.
#1 cleanability - It is very hard to properly clean a 3d printed item and each print may be a little different than the others.
#2 Cost - For the same cost, I can buy a stethoscope on Aliexpress that is made from aluminum and pvc. For about $5 I can purchase an actual Littmann replica made from the same durable parts as the previously mentioned steth from Aliexpress. The same goes for all of the designed products they have.
#3 Durability - PETG and ABS are relatively durable, but they do not compare to aluminum in terms of strength. In emergent situations, I would not trust plastic for my gear. In the clinical setting, I can see the use case, but still like the term "buy once, cry once" when it comes to tools that will see lots of use.
- davidzweig 7y agoI figured an interesting model for open-source hardware would be to create nice designs.. CAD models, schematics, gerber files for making PCBs, firmware etc... put it all on Github, and wait for Chinese factories to start producing them. Here's the kind of device I had in mind.. but maybe there are more immeadiatly useful types of machines to work on, I don't know: https://www.cmecorp.com/welch-allyn-28600-tm286-auto-tymp.html https://www.cmecorp.com/welch-allyn-28600-tm286-auto-tymp.ht... "Designed to make detection and documentation of middle ear pathologies fast and accurate." Happy to hack on stuff if there's some people to work with.
- galazzah 7y agoI actually attended a talk by Dr. Loubani this past weekend at MIT and one thing he emphasized was that everything they do has to be reliably replicated in Gaza. So yeah, one could conceivably purchase the Littmann replica from AliExpress but getting it into Gaza? Another story...
- edu115 7y agoTry buying something from Aliexpress when you have a close border with Egypt and Israel, and a blockade within Israeli sea and air.