Re:Implausible and overfunded CPAP machine on Indiegogo
by Alkim on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @01:57PM
(#9886782)
Well I never took the PE exam, and it is a couple of decades since my undergrad and graduate engineering degrees that included a couple of courses in thermo, so things are a little rusty, but prodded by a few of these posts I've just dusted off the math and made a go of it. BEST case, requires an 8 oz zinc-air battery. And they are going to sell that, and the device itself for $3..?!
Part of my reaction is that I am a patent attorney, and every patent attorney gets 'inventions' that come through the door from well-meaning but essentially clueless people. After a while you get to develop a bullsh*t detector. This one just rang my gong. I suffer from sleep apnea and I know what a real thing it is, and the idea of these guys just walking away with $$ from desperate people, just, again, rang my gong.
I will say that it has been fun seeing these posts--thank you!
Skepticism is certainly warranted based solely on the timeline presented and my experience in medical devices.
As to the rest, you're operating on incomplete information. According to the NSPE, "Engineers may express publicly technical opinions that are founded upon knowledge of the facts and competence in the subject matter." You say, "what should we do as engineers", so I'll make the implicit assumption that you're an unlicensed "software engineer" like many on HN. If so, consider that you may be operating outside your area of expertise without complete knowledge of the device. I would make careful public statements: I, for example, wouldn't say "I performed a first-principles analysis and, as an engineer, I find the device claims are impossible."