Kindle for the hospitalized

[knc1]

OK - Don't get too excited.
This is probably another one of my "It Will Never be Finished" (IWNF) threads.

The situation:

You find yourself doing time in a hospital bed and missing your collection of electronic reading materials.

The only thing to look at is something such as pictured below.

Which is a boring read after you convince yourself you **WILL** take another breath.

Hmm....
How much Kindle e-reader stuff can I port to it?
(Yes they do run Linux.
You don't think they would run WinCE on life support equipment, do you? )

[GoSharks]

If you do ever finish this, may I recommend Robin Cook's Coma as the first installed book to read?

[knc1]

I like Robin Cook's books, so maybe.

These things have a "Demo Mode" which might be changed to "Reader Mode"
At least maybe I can change the "DEMO" screen overlay to "DEAD" for some laughs.

[hawhill]

If you have SDL running, you can run Koreader :-)

[Antoinekamel]

Originally Posted by GoSharks

If you do ever finish this, may I recommend Robin Cook's Coma as the first installed book to read?

When the hospitalized read the title on the hacked breathing equipment, the story will turn real.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by knc1

(Yes they do run Linux.
You don't think they would run WinCE on life support equipment, do you? )

As somebody who has spent 20 years writing medical device software and fighting Windows of every variant every step of the way, let me sum up that statement with one response:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHhahahahahaha, oh my sides, I cannot breathe...

You really believe that?

[knc1]

A couple of days to get the (optional) built-in printer and touch screen installed -
Two or three days in shipment -
Another day or two in customs -
I should have it in-hand this time next week.

- - - - -

Not sure how patient will smuggle in their tool-kit to work on the monitor -
but maybe I'll leave that to a "user supplied solution".

- - - - -

Some of the places I have been - "they" don't even like you taking a close look at the device.

Some of those places have even told me "only a medical institution can buy those" -
B.S. - The Chinese will sell anything to anyone with money in-hand.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by twowheels

- - - - -
You really believe that?

Not really.
(Although the make/model I ordered does run Linux - I checked first.)

But it gets a laugh.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by knc1

Some of those places have even told me "only a medical institution can buy those" -
B.S. - The Chinese will sell anything to anyone with money in-hand.

Didn't you read the FDA mandated label (CFR 801.109) that said:

Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician or veterinarian.

???

[knc1]

That only applies to sales to people who **use** the device.

Not to those in the Biomedical Instrumentation industry for purposes **other than** use of the device.

Did you have a prescription for every device in front of you the past 20 years?
I bet not.

That is:
Both of us fall under the section 801.109(a)(1)(i) exemption.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/script...cfm?fr=801.109

Yup - I have read it before.
My first (engineering) job in the BioMedical Electronic Instrumentation field was in 1972.
(My Avatar is a self photo. )

[twowheels]

...but...but... you were talking about buying!!

(and I've seen plenty of used equipment on ebay)

[knc1]

Originally Posted by twowheels

...but...but... you were talking about buying!!

(and I've seen plenty of used equipment on ebay)

Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician or veterinarian.

Here : "Federal Law" meaning USA Federal Law (Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) ), not Chinese Federal Law.

We just don't have that much control over what the Chinese do.

And, with a little thought (or a hell of a lot of reading -
the CFR isn't at all clear about much beyond section numbers) -
A manufacturer can sell to a distributor, and the distributor buy from the manufacturer, without a prescription.

Those factories turn these things out at a rate of 10,000 to 100,000 a month -
They couldn't do that (in any country) if each transaction had to be "prescribed".[*]

So even though I am not a lawyer - I think we are both in the clear.
Me for buying one to play with its hardware, you for having one on your work bench to test software builds on.

- - - - -

For the curious reader of this thread - -

These machines can (and often do) have provisions to make "invasive" measurements.
I.E: From sticking a needle or sensor of some sort into a person (or animal).
That is "Criminal Assault" without the proper medical practitioner's license and training.

This particular unit was ordered **without** support for any invasive measurements.

But - is that all to be considered?

Not hardly.
It does (as one of its basic functions) sense a person's ECG.
That is done by making an electrical connection between the person and the device.

Another whole bag of hazards and regulations.
At least for anyone not employed to operate an electric chair in the state's death house on people the courts have decided should die by electrocution.

The designers go to great lengths to ensure the equipment is safe to use in the intended manner when it is functioning normally.

Which leads into another large bag of rules and regulations.

- - - - -

For those who don't have the training in the proper use and/or don't mind chancing suicide by electrocution . . . .
Just don't leave a note saying you got the idea from this thread on how to off yourself.

Note: Don't use it on the household dog.
In most states, in actual practice, the penalties handed out for shocking your dog end up being more sever than for electrocuting your friend.

- - - - -
[*] Triggers visions of a zillion Chinese medical men, chained in a small room, dashing off 100,000 prescriptions a month - one for each machine that ships.

[twowheels]

It appears that you may have taken my jocular reference to the CFR a bit more seriously than intended!

I'm an engineer, I don't work in regulatory. :-)

[knc1]

But you did make a good point.
And we can't tell who might be reading this site.

Even though I am not proposing DIY brain surgery;

It is good that our readers know there are regulations about these things, and for good reason.

[twowheels]

BTW, that network icon (my guess??) looks suspiciously Windows like... did they steal it from MS?

Edit: yep...just looked... looks identical to the XP network icon. And the power plug icon is the XP one flipped along the X axis... thieves! (assuming it's running on Linux as you say)