iFixit Is Building a Repair Database For Medical Equipment, and It Needs Your Help (theverge.com) 21
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Repair specialist iFixit is building a database filled with repair information for the world's hospital equipment in anticipation of the increased demand caused by COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. In particular, it's calling for repair manuals for ventilators and BiPAP machines that can be used as ventilators. iFixit's database can be found here, and the company is calling for people to create new device pages and upload photographs and manuals.
There are currently few sources for repair manuals online. iFixit notes that resources like Frank's Hospital Workshop exist, but these are relatively small operations. Some manufacturers provide easy access to repair manuals on their websites, but others make them harder to find. There are a few different parts to iFixit's campaign beyond assembling a collection of manuals. Once it's got a manual, the company wants to format its information to make it as easy to understand as possible. It plans to break the manuals down into guides for individual repairs, to reformat them to make them more SEO-friendly, and to translate them into other languages. iFixit also wants to put together preventive maintenance guides so technicians can work to keep their equipment in good working order before it reaches the point of breaking down. iFixit is also asking people in the medical community "to provide information about which ventilators are currently in use as well as which parts are most likely to break," the report adds. If you have any manuals to contribute, you can upload them to iFixit directly or email the company.
There are currently few sources for repair manuals online. iFixit notes that resources like Frank's Hospital Workshop exist, but these are relatively small operations. Some manufacturers provide easy access to repair manuals on their websites, but others make them harder to find. There are a few different parts to iFixit's campaign beyond assembling a collection of manuals. Once it's got a manual, the company wants to format its information to make it as easy to understand as possible. It plans to break the manuals down into guides for individual repairs, to reformat them to make them more SEO-friendly, and to translate them into other languages. iFixit also wants to put together preventive maintenance guides so technicians can work to keep their equipment in good working order before it reaches the point of breaking down. iFixit is also asking people in the medical community "to provide information about which ventilators are currently in use as well as which parts are most likely to break," the report adds. If you have any manuals to contribute, you can upload them to iFixit directly or email the company.
Trouble (Score:2)
Any hospital in the US electing to use non-certified people to repair life support equipment is asking for trouble. The regulators with oversight on this are not going to much like it either. Repair and maintenance of healthcare technology is HIGHLY regulated.
Re:Trouble (Score:5, Insightful)
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"This isn't for the US or well regulated western country its for less fortunate nations where getting anyone to do the repair would be good and if they had good documentation even better."
Indeed, countries where injection needles are billed to the patient's insurance for 30 cents instead of 1000 dollars.
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Might I suggest that it depends? A leaking radiation treatment device is a hazard. So are battered oxygen canisters, even if refilled with oxygen, if they've been battered and are close to failing mechanically or they leak in storage.
Re:Trouble (Score:5, Insightful)
Any hospital in the US electing to use non-certified people to repair life support equipment is asking for trouble. The regulators with oversight on this are not going to much like it either. Repair and maintenance of healthcare technology is HIGHLY regulated.
Agreed, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And this is one of those times.
Given a choice between "Bob", a moderately-skilled person with a technical background fixing my ventilator, and no one fixing it, I'll damn straight take my chances with Bob.
Fortunately, ventilators aren't super complex, and I speak as someone with a fair bit of experience in assembling, installing, and servicing scientific equipment.
Most of the tricky shit is in the calibration of these devices, not replacing the parts. And as I said, ventilators aren't super complicated- they're maybe about a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-to-10.
I'd need some time to get familiar with a medical-grade ventilator but I've little doubt that with the right tools and equipment I could repair one and get it running well enough (and quickly enough) to save your grandma's life.
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Some of us are also retired or moved to different careers, but used to *design* the equipment. I asked one of the surgeons, they're still using neural stimulators I designed 20 years in the OR.
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Some of us are also retired or moved to different careers, but used to *design* the equipment. I asked one of the surgeons, they're still using neural stimulators I designed 20 years in the OR.
A beautiful case of "If it works, don't screw with it".
But please, don't let Microsoft get their hands on it.
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Fortunately there will always exist people who are not slaves to the rule book even when it is bad for everyone.
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You mean like those same hospitals that use Windows XP and Windows 7 Machines to run their medical equipment?
Right...
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Medical equipment is approved by the FDA. That configuration includes the OS that the manufacturer shipped it with. A hospital cannot just upgrade it because they feel like it.
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Repair and maintenance of healthcare technology is HIGHLY regulated.
Under ordinary circumstances it is. This is an emergency.
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You say "highly regulated."
Who regulates it?
I know of several community college certification tracks (here in Texas) in repairing medical equipment. Allnthe certs are industry certs, not state occupational licenses. Whi regulates this?
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CMS rules them all.
Below that are the likes of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
You can have your whole facility shut down if you are sufficient noncompliant.
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With a nice new clean suit thats ready for use.
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Not when "the unit" is an MRI, an EKG, a wheelchair or a an IV controller for pain medication. The parts that enter a human body are normally replaced, but the rest of it is re-used.
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Those components brake, and require maintenance.
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The connect and test as needed to ensure the entire support system worked as needed.
How can we Support Frank? (Score:2)
Frank's is amazing. Can we donate to help him pay for bandwidth?
Can he please post a torrent of his manuals?