PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Gerrit Niezen AU - Parisa Eslambolchilar AU - Harold Thimbleby TI - Open-source hardware for medical devices AID - 10.1136/bmjinnov-2015-000080 DP - 2016 Apr 01 TA - BMJ Innovations PG - 78--83 VI - 2 IP - 2 4099 - http://innovations.bmj.com/content/2/2/78.short 4100 - http://innovations.bmj.com/content/2/2/78.full SO - BMJ Innov2016 Apr 01; 2 AB - Open-source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so anyone can study, modify, distribute, make and sell the design or the hardware based on that design. Some open-source hardware projects can potentially be used as active medical devices. The open-source approach offers a unique combination of advantages, including reducing costs and faster innovation. This article compares 10 of open-source healthcare projects in terms of how easy it is to obtain the required components and build the device.