Paralyzed Jockey Loses Ability to Walk After Manufacturer Refuses to Fix Battery For His $100,000 Exoskeleton
Paralyzed Jockey Loses Ability to Walk After Manufacturer Refuses to Fix Battery For His $100,000 Exoskeleton
Michael Straight learned to walk again with the help of an exoskeleton. After an accessory to the device broke, the company refused to fix it.
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Trained repair professionals at hospitals are regularly unable to fix medical devices because of manufacturer lockout codes or the inability to obtain repair parts. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, broken ventilators sat unrepaired for weeks or months as manufacturers were overwhelmed with repair requests and independent repair professionals were locked out of them. At the time, I reported that independent repair techs had resorted to creating DIY dongles loaded with jailbroken Ukrainian firmware to fix ventilators without manufacturer permission. Medical device manufacturers also threatened iFixit because it posted ventilator repair manuals on its website. I have also written about people with sleep apnea who have hacked their CPAP machines to improve their basic functionality and to repair them.
PS: he got it repaired.
The manufacture should have zero say if their product gets repaired or not. The only person who can give permission to repair it is the owner. It should be illegal to implement tying to lockout parts being used as a replacement. Right to repair
They call it jailbreak because this is an issue of freedom: software freedom
They call it jailbreak because this is an issue of freedom
I support your position and the right to repair, but that’s not the origin of the term jailbreak in the context of computing.
The term jailbreaking predates its modern understanding relating to smartphones, and dates back to the introduction of “protected modes” in early 80s CPU designs such as the intel 80286.
With the introduction of protected mode it became possible for programs to run in isolated memory spaces where they are unable to impact other programs running on the same CPU. These programs were said to be running “in a jail” that limited their access to the rest of the computer. A software exploit that allowed a program running inside the “jail” to gain root access / run code outside of protected mode was a “jailbreak”.
The first “jailbreak” for iOS allowed users to run software applications outside of protected modes and instead run in the kernel.
But as is common for the English language, jailbreak became to be synonymous with freedom from manufacture imposed limits and now has this additional definition.
Thanks for the history and technical explanation. I didn't mean to imply that was the origin (for computing) and was only talking about a specific usage of the word.
I think most people say it to refer to manufacture imposed limits but I wanted to promote a broader usage. That using proprietary software is like being in a jail because your software freedoms are denied.
With the introduction of protected mode it became possible for programs to run in isolated memory spaces where they are unable to impact other programs running on the same CPU. These programs were said to be running “in a jail” that limited their access to the rest of the computer. A software exploit that allowed a program running inside the “jail” to gain root access / run code outside of protected mode was a “jailbreak”.
I still miss the narrow window in which you could make use of paging without technically being in protected mode. Basically there was like one revision of the 386 where you could set the paging bit but not protected mode and remain in real mode but with access to paging meaning you got access to paging without the additional processor overhead of protected mode. Not terribly useful since it was removed in short order, but neat to know about. Kinda like how there were a few instructions that had multiple opcodes and there was one commercially distributed assembler that used the alternative opcodes as a way to identify code assembled by it. Or POP CS - easily the most useless 80086 instruction, so useless that the opcode for it got repurposed in the next x86 processor.
I'd temper that by saying a manufacturer would need to provide a reasonable option. Some things could become dangerous or even deadly if repaired incorrectly. Or it could be dangerous or deadly to even attempt to repair it.
In the medical field when a device can only be repaired by the manufacturer then you can expect long wait times, bad repair jobs and having your own equipment sent in for repair destroyed for "safety".
We let people repair their own car's brake pads.. we shouldn't give up ownership rights for a unwarranted claim to safety. If something is potentially dangerous then making it more difficult to repair is a bad idea.
It's OK for manufacturers to say using aftermarket parts voids the warranty, it's not OK for them to prevent using them entirely. Likewise if there's a safety concern that should be handled by regulation and things like safety inspections, not by forcing all repairs to go through the manufacturer. If whatever it is is that critical to the safe operation it should be publicly documented so that third parties can manufacture it correctly to the needed tolerances.
If it's dangerous to repair it, it's dangerous to own. That's the domain for regulations by the government, not arbitrary software restrictions by software manufacturers.
They don't implement these to keep you safe. They do it purely to make more money.
This is what Louis Rossmann has been screaming and fighting about for years. It's the most fucked up shit ever. It is affecting our food supplies and we are not paying attention to it.
Do you have a source on the food supply angle? Sounds interesting and enraging.
Yeah, just search up right to repair farm equipment, just linking one or two articles won't give you the scope of the problem the way seeing how much it has been covered, but not changed.
I got family that farms independent, and it's pretty much the single biggest factor in profitability over time. Those machines can cost as much, or more, than a nice house, and you're locked in to inflated service and parts costs.
Enraging doesn't honestly do the problem justice.
This isn't a "google it" thing, it's really about actually seeing the search results first hand. We're talking pages of hits going back decades.
Here is one video of many he has made about John Deere and how they're being absolute scums of the earth. Louis actually helped the farmers win some cases in several states. A lot of people on the internet love to shit on Rossmann (mostly about his personality), but the man has been tremendous work. He's a fucking fighter.
Here is a some what related video, $200000 to Mobility Independence Foundation; Thomas Quiter's guide through the wheelchair industry - Louis Rossmann. It a pretty long video at 1 hour and 11 minutes but I felt it was worth the watch because my unfamiliarity with the topic.
Medical device manufacturers also threatened iFixit because it posted ventilator repair manuals on its website.
What the fuck is wrong with people. Anyone who opposes the right to repair for MEDICAL DEVICES is irredeemable.
Keeping repairs locked into your system of parts/techs can at least feign “safety” or “quality”.
But essentially just refusing to repair is an absolute fuck you.
I’ve started choosing the companies I use based much more on the experience offered when their product/service DOESN’T work, rather than when it does.
I’ve started choosing the companies I use based much more on the experience offered when their product/service DOESN’T work, rather than when it does.
Easy to do for a cell phone or a toaster, but I can't imagine there's a ton of options for exosuits that correct your condition, covered by your insurance, that your doctor is familiar enough with to prescribe (for lack of a better term).
Some things are annoying to make abandonware, and some things should be criminal.
And it doesn't preclude the company just deciding your product is no longer worth supporting/going bankrupt.
It might have been fine and seemingly trustworthy to begin with, and then it stops, a few years down the line.
That’s the most dangerous part of it for sure. Inherently, the more a company has a monopoly over an industry, the less incentive they have to actually do a good job with anything.
For me it's a mix of what you said and how they treat their employees/where they're making the product.
I spend extra time trying to find higher priced, higher quality, more fairly manufactured products.
Right it begs the question.
Is me not receiving care or having access to care REALLY better for me?
If the answer can't clearly be yes, then they are just choosing to make me ill or kill me for their perceived interests.
A right to repair is long overdue but more than that when it comes to medical devices it's obvious battery replacement is going to be necessary and should be user accessible.
Corporations are a fucking curse.
any company who locks medical device repair should be burned to the ground. and dont bullshit me about liabilities bla it is more likely cash grab which they get in the form of "extra care packages" or exorbitant repair prices charged after the guarantee period ends.
For a $100k device, I would expect better long term support.
They just want him to get a new one... Why repair a $20 battery on a perfectly functioning device when you can force him to get a new $100,000 exoskeleton?
This is just more capitalist ghouls doing the only thing they know
Absolutely hate this shit.
It’s definitely annoying, but they have a provided decent explanation of why, imo
The reason why is that they need my email address?
Exactly why I'm using an email proxy..
It's four journalists who broke away from their former employers and started their own thing. It's ok to charge money to run a business. The quality of their work is top notch.
It’s ok to charge money to run a business.
They're not charging money. They're just throwing up a big sign demanding my email address.
Update: He temporarily gained the ability to walk again after touching a spinning steel ball, despite the recovery not lasting he will still be competing in upcoming cross country horse race.
there is absolutely no excuse for this
The right to repair is such an obvious good in the world that those opposed to it should be publicly shamed.
Right to repair NOW!
Medical devices should be either supported for life (with money on escrow to support it) or provided with all schematics, manuals and spare parts
Non paywalled article
Line must go 🆙
The CPAP lockout is something I went through. The company behind my CPAP does not allow you to get ANYTHING off the device. But there is an SD Card that you can get all the info you want from your old system. Its arbitrarily locked out.
You are also unable to repair anything on the device without insurance getting involved. And insurance is often at OEM prices (think 200+ for a basic mask). Thankfully, people have illegally added STLs/chips/parts/etc... online that you can basically reverse engineer the entire device nowadays. As long as you use medical safe materials, it saves you literally thousands of dollars. Ive replaced quite a few parts and the device is still working after many years of usage.
Like anything medically related in the US, it's our time to crack open our wallets and do our patriotic duty of paying half the nation.
Like, if I want to talk to a doctor for 5 minutes, then it's my time to pay the all the insurance industry workers, and I have to pay my part of those 3 minutes long drug commercials you see on TV every ad break and before every YouTube video, and I have to pay all those people locking down the medical devices so that the users can't use their own data. This is my time to shine, I got to pay for all this because I talked to the doctor for 5 minutes. Also, hopefully in the end I have a few cents left over to give to the doctor.
Fucking rent seekers...
When my mother died, I couldn't even donate her new and expensive insulin pump. Somebody needed to make money, it certainly wasn't me or the diabetic who might not have to buy one. I just wanted someone to have it who needed it and I didn't need the money. Somebody always needs to get paid, and somebody always needs to pay and jump through hoops.
Medical devices are required to comply with 21 CFR 820 in the United States, which establishes quality management standards. This includes minimum standards for the software development lifecycle, including software verification and validation testing.
In the EU, broadly equivalent standards include ISO 13485 and IEC 62304.
If an OEM wants to do a software update, they at minimum need to perform and document a change impact analysis, verification testing, and regression testing. Bigger changes can involve a new FDA submission process.
If you go around hacking new software features into your medical device, you are almost certainly not doing all of that stuff. That doesn't mean that your software changes are low quality--maybe, maybe not. But it would be completely unfair to hold your device to the standard that the FDA holds them to--that medical devices in the United States are safe and effective treatments for diseases.
This may be okay if you want to hack your own CPAP (usually a class II device) and never sell it to someone else. But I think we all need to acknowledge that there are some serious risks here.
Sure, there are risks, but if the alternatives are pony up $100k for a new exosuit, or just don't fucking walk again, I see why repair is an enticing option.
Yeah, I'm a big right to repair person. But medical equipment is a different level. This isn't just affecting yourself, if a tech screws up people die.
Louis Rossmann should definitely get right on this case ASAP.
Where are the horse exoskeletons for horses that fall and get injured in completely unnecessary horse races?
I agree, 404 is legit journalism. No org is perfect, but they're as good as it gets.