MIT's Media Lab plans to fix the breastpump. In fact, its fall 2014 hackthon is dedicated to this very aim. Breast pumps are time-consuming, noisy and often painful -- and as the organizers put it (rather TechCrunch-ly): "this is a space that is ripe for further innovation." There's already several problems set to be tackled: the hardened cones that cup over the breasts, the litany of parts, tubes and bottles, as well as a lack of metrics: existing pumps don't offer any information on how much milk is collected, or when. Over at Quartz, they've added their own ideas for the to-do list, including ensuring a closed-system that won't be ruined by water, milk and the inevitable mold, as well as a pumping system that's generally more discrete. It's in fact the secondbreast pump hackathon, but this sequel will encompass 60-80 engineers, designers and breastfeeding experts -- registration is open.
VIA: Quartz
SOURCE: MIT Media Labs
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