Building and Sustaining Open-Source Medical Device Projects

The open-source development model has been successfully applied to consumer and enterprise software, and recently to consumer hardware. Medical devices may become a beneficiary of this trend, as open-source medical device development has the potential to reduce costs, democratize patient access, and provide continued support to abandoned devices from failed companies. Unlike the consumer device market, the medical device market is highly regulated and involves considerable manufacturer liability that may limit the use of open-source technology. This review of open-source medical device development explores the current state of development in research and clinical products and suggests best practices for creating sustainable and effective open-source medical devices.