Jonathan Kuniholm: Open Prosthetics, where it comes from, what it changes, what it means for all of us [EN]

Open Prosthetics is a movement and a community that looks (i) to find economically feasible ways of producing medical devices for underserved medical populations and (ii) to give patients a way to participate to (even large and sophisticated) projects that develop technologies in their name. By facilitating the exchange of knowledge, Open prosthetics has allowed projects to develop that make prosthesis more available, while others focus more on new possibilities that would never find a market before that (such as specialized, customized, or even fancy replacement limbs), or even new ways of producing high-end research (lego hands for prototyping...)

Open Prosthetics is also a "patient community" of sorts, where amputees share ideas, tricks, etc. which help them live their daily lives.

Beyond Open Prosthectics, the talk will offer a perspective on a broader issue: How can DIY scale?

· Online, 2.0 tools are not yet capable of supporting the kind of cooperation Open Prosthetics needs, be it around hadrware or around the getting-together of all stakeholders: patients, academics, clinical professionals, industry, public funders.

· Most DIY machines are not yet sufficient for even quality prototypes; TechShops face economic difficulties.

· In prosthetics as in many other domains the volumes are not sufficient for most manufacturers. How can this problem be addressed? Specialists in on-demand manufacturing (Ponoko)? Techshops (but only for competent people)?

· Need to sacrifice control over one's design...