Johnson & Johnson has issued a security warning about one of its products:
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday issued a warning about a possible cybersecurity issue with its Animas OneTouch Ping Insulin Infusion Pump. The problem was first reported by Reuters.
Computer security firm Rapid 7 discovered that it might be possible to take control of the pump via its an unencrypted radio frequency communication system that allows it to send commands and information via a wireless remote control. The company alerted Johnson & Johnson, which issued the warning. Getting too high or too low a dose of insulin could severely sicken or even kill. There have been no instances of the pumps being hacked, Johnson & Johnson said.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 05 2016, @05:45PM
"slightest changes to the design require a very long FDA approval process"
On the other hand, the pharmaceuticals can get approval for new uses for old drugs and other underhanded tricks, relatively quick. Crazy, ain't it?
(Score: 2) by PocketSizeSUn on Wednesday October 05 2016, @06:41PM
Actually that's a bit different.
Once a drug is approved (in the market) a doctor can prescribe the drug for "off label uses".
Getting the drug on the market is hard, using it for something else is easy.
Drug pumps have a similar set of restrictions. A pump is approved for a specific drug, or subset of drugs. What drug is ultimately used can differ depending entirely on the Rx from the doc. My understanding is that it is quite a common situation for implanted devices to be delivering a cocktail that is technically "off label" is not particularly surprising to the manufacturer. It's ultimately up to the doc to put the right mix in and set the proper limits to provide the Rx.