Ethical issues for user involvement in technological research projects: Directives and recommendations

In recent years, it has become common for users to participate in the development of new technologies for health and quality of life. This development requires ethical issues to be taken into account. In this chapter, the researchers review the important recommendations and directives both worldwide and in European legislation in order to guide technological researchers. All research with human participants that poses any risk to them must be supervised by an external multidisciplinary entity. In addition, the participants must decide whether or not they want to participate, having been provided with all the information about the experiments and the risks of taking part. The privacy of the participants' personal data is another important issue.