The Restart Project Podcast

A bi-weekly talk show by The Restart Project, plus a monthly documentary series produced by brilliant podcaster Dave Pickering, based on fixing triumphs, heartbreaks and wisdom shared at our community repair events – called Restart Parties – here in London. We go into real depth about good and bad design, obstacles to repair of electronics, emotional aspects of ownership, environmentally irresponsible business models, and the “end of life” of our gadgets. This podcast is for you if you'd like to fix your relationship with electronics. Let’s rethink, restart.

https://therestartproject.org/podcast/

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Restart Radio: Medical technology in/on the body


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Medicine has been revolutionised by technology that goes on – and in – our body. In these cases, questions of durability and reliability can become matters of life and death. From the artificial pancreas to the edible robot, we think about the role that repair and ongoing product support have in the medical technology (med-tech) industry.

Today, we hear from Jon about his own ‘artificial pancreas’ (continuous glucose monitoring device) – a set of devices that help diabetics to more easily monitor their blood sugar levels. Jon talks to Lauren about his experiences of this relatively new technology – both positive and negative – and what it means to be truly dependent on a device.

Image by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (source: Flickr)

We take a brief look at some of the other new medical devices that are emerging, including a range of ‘edible’ pills. Experiments in building open-source platforms for these kinds of devices have got us thinking about the trust and transparency elements of medical technologies. Would you be more willing to swallow an electronic pill that you had designed yourself than one that you had bought from a manufacturer?

Links:

  • Diabetes.co.uk: Continuous Glucose Monitoring
  • Wired: Artificial organs developed by biohackers will soon deliver insulin to diabetics
  • NPR: Are implanted medical devices creating ‘A danger within us?’
  • IEEE Spectrum: How to design a robot you can swallow
  • IEEE Spectrum: This swallowable gas sensor could improve your diet.
  • Dr. Ashley Shew: Tech and Disability

The post Restart Radio: Medical technology in/on the body appeared first on The Restart Project.


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 January 31, 2018  29m