21. Jun 2018

Enabling citizens to co-design and deliver people-centered health products through means of digital fabrication

We recently launched the Careables platform to enable citizens to co-design and deliver people-centered health products through means of digital fabrication.

Digital fabrication labs and maker spaces have emerged across the globe in recent years to become local community hubs for a wide range of Do It Yourself­ activities. In parallel, open source information and tools have triggered grassroots solutions in healthcare. Patients, their families, carers, health professionals and designers started to create personalised ‘open’ healthcare solutions in a bottom­ up way. Within Made4You, an international innovation project, we aim to link local communities of citizens with disabilities, their families, and healthcare professionals with makers/designers to establish collaboration between these separate communities to develop open­source interventions: Careables.

Careables are driven by a methodological commitment towards co­design of ‘open’ healthcare solutions, involving all relevant stakeholders. Key to co­design is that people become creators, not only users of innovation. In our case, patients, their families, healthcare professionals and designers are involved in the co­ design process as experts in their specific environments, together with makers, who are experts in the use of digital tools, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, etc.

Sign up for our newsletter on Careables to stay informed!

Verwandte Artikel:

• News: Sign up now to the Careables newsletter!
• Projekt: Open and Inclusive Healthcare for Citizens Based on Digital Fabrication
• News: What are careables?
• News: Was sind careables?
• News: Covid-19 Careables: made by U for U near U
• News: Im Porträt: ZSI-Forscherinnen Barbara Kieslinger, C. M. Fabian und T. Schäfer
• Publikation: The Covid-19 Response From Global Careables Makers

Tags: health, open innovation