Discussing Emerging Topics in The DIY Design of Healthcare Devices

Abstract

Digital technologies and open source have had a direct impact on design tools and culture but also, indirectly, on several sectors where they are applied. Examples are biology with the DIYBio/Biohacking movement, a further extension and development of the Maker movement, or healthcare, from patient-centered innovation to makers designing healthcare devices. What are the main elements emerging from the intersection of design, open source, DIY, healthcare and biology? This article explores this research question with an interview with the researcher and practitioner Jose Gomez-Marquez, the Little Devices Lab co-director at MIT and co-founder of MakerHealth. The semi-structured interview was then analysed, resulting in a short non-alphabetically ordered dictionary of the main elements of DIY design in healthcare devices: 1) Open Science & Open Design; 2) Documentation; 3) Protocols; 4) Lead Users; 5) DIY & Current Systems; 6) Knowledge Transfer.