From: Doug Sutherland (wearable_at_earthlink.net)
Date: 2001-12-21 05:14:12
sleeper75se wrote:
> The point I'm getting at here, is that we can start
> doing this as a kit: This group supplies the design,
> and possibly a factory-made PCB. Maybe we can find
> a kit-reseller to handle the details for us. Anyway,
> the liability and the risk ends up with the user,
> just as the designs published in an electronics
> magazine.
I think this kit idea is the ONLY thing that is really
feasible without forming a formal entity (company or
corporation). There are lots of problems with making
a product, FDA is one challenge, another major issue
is funding, and there are other serious roadblocks.
The kit idea is the way to get low-cost EEG into the
public hands. If a company needs to be formed to make
and sell the kit, so be it. There is no reason why
OpenEEG needs to be that company. MIT designed the
"handy board" 68HC11 robot controller board. Anyone
could build from the specs (like OpenEEG) and grab
the software (hopefully we'll have that too down the
road). Two different very small companies made and
sold assembled handy boards. A third company sold
the PCBs. Why shouldn't this be possible for OpenEEG?
If someone is going to fork out the money in advance
and take the time to order the parts and package
them into a kit, they should be able to make a bit
of money. If someone else wants to assemble and sell
finished units, why not? The key thing is that they
all follow the SAME design.
> Of course, we should make it as safe as possible,
> but we need not worry about compliance with CE/FCC/
> FDA/IEC/<some-other-organization> standards.
It depends who you want to use the EEG. If you want
it to be used by biofeedback practitioners, then I
suggest that IEC electrical standards and medical
grade power supplies etc are the way to do it. If
its NOT for practitioners, then no problem, as
long as its safe for joe builder. Does it make any
sense to have two versions of the hardware, one
that meets IEC 601 and one that is lower cost and
specifically NOT for clinical usage?
-- Doug
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : 2002-07-27 12:28:35 BST