ma resident here. there's massive corruption within the ma state police. the karen read trial uncovered a fair amount but i suspect we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. stories like this sadly don't surprise me.
> Tech folks pivoting to medical always throws off some alarm bells to me
Same for me. I've been in the medical device industry for 15+ years now and came from "tech". What a lot of techies under/don't appreciate is that the medical device industry is heavily regulated and moves at a muuuch slower pace than other technologies.
There are lots of regulatory and quality/testing hurdles that you must clear (namely verification and validation testing, in addition to your 510(k) clearance or approval, if PMA) before you can market and sell your device.
I tell customers, on average, a Class II medical device project can take 18-24 months and cost $3M to 4M, minimum.
Yeah, it seems that their pitch is that they want to move at consumer electronics speed, I mean, their website explicitly says
“Our tech-driven approach leverages software, hardware and AI […]
That means we can iterate at the speed of consumer electronics”
Which is kind of scary but also a bit interesting.
How would you go about regulating an open source medical device? The user can just plop whatever software on there that they want, and ultrasound themselves wherever… play with resonance and focusing, right?
> How would you go about regulating an open source medical device? The user can just plop whatever software on there that they want, and ultrasound themselves wherever… play with resonance and focusing, right?
The manufacturer will still need to validate their own firmware and subsequent updates. Whether it’s open source or not doesn’t matter because a huge part of the approval process is quality control tied to a specific manufacturer.
Anyone who plops their own software will be liable for the consequences and I doubt malpractice insurance would allow it in the vast majority of cases.
i find it hard to be sympathetic here. they sold their business to unilever, a multinational consumer goods company, for $326m in 2000 ($613m in today's money).
25 years later, jerry thinks the company has lost its independence? the independence was lost before the ink dried on the sales agreement. unilever never cared about their social mission, period. they've been "dealing" with it since the acquisition.
why not take the sale proceeds and pursue other social missions? btw, phish food is my favorite flavor! <3
Unilever turned down an offer to buy back for a cool two billionish, as the article mentions.
I would love to see the legal catfight as a new brand called GFBJ (Genocide-Free Ben and Jerry's) opens for sale across a series of supermarkets coinciding with a boycott of Unilever products.
you can do this at starbucks if you placed your through their mobile app. it amazes me that so many people "order ahead" but still take the time to park their vehicle and go inside.
i've had quite a few experiences with AWFUL uber drivers as well. i think it would be beneficial for uber to require some sort of ODB monitoring like some insurance companies do. one time on a trip to the airport, i almost had the driver pull over on the side of the road to let me know. i was GENUINELY scared by her driving.
out of sheer curiosity, i took my first (few) waymo rides while in san francisco last month. mind = blown. there is nothing more enjoyable than getting into a vehicle by yourself, no driver, no awkwardness, nothing. i was happy to pay more for a waymo than an uber, too.
more relevant for this audience is the digital health platform and wearable apnimed has developed to support their clinical trials. i saw their presentation "Sensor-Based Digital Health Technology Enables Digital Medicine for Sleep-Related Breathing Diseases" recently at ATS 2025 in san francisco.
