Berlin-based designer Ronen Kadushin has come up with an open-source concept for a cheaper kind of IUD that incorporates a copper 1c coin. This IUD is not ready for market — IUDs must be collapsible, so they can pass through an un-dilated cervix during insertion, and Kadushin’s is not — and there are obvious safety and usability issues with any attempt to redesign a medical device. But given so many women feel that current contraception options have room for improvement, and given that the pharmaceutical companies that control the IUD market in the U.S. charge hundreds of dollars for these tiny pieces of plastic and copper (Kadushin’s prototype costs just €1.25), it’s cool to see the IUD getting some attention in the design world.
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