Let's extrapolate from the narrow case a bit: what other
body mods would be useful in minimizing the kind of
catastrophic damage that we want to avoid most (i.e.,
loss of memory/cognitive function)? Current protocols
for treatment of head injuries call for the use of an
intracranial pressure monitor, because treatment is not
just a matter of keeping excessive pressure down, but
balancing ICP with blood pressure and other factors to
ensure that there is adequate blood flow to the brain
to prevent ischemia. And pressure is caused mostly not
by blood but by edema.
So having a builtin ICP monitor, blood pressure monitor,
heart monitor, respiration monitor and some other basic
stuff might be most helpful, especially if they were
tied to a warning system that, say, called 911 when the
heart stopped or brain pressure went over threshhold.
Perhaps we could build some standard sensors with skin-
mounted transducers that could be plugged into a cheap
Fluke meter at home to monitor as many signs as were
needed (diabetics would have glucose meters, etc.) Is
there an existing technology for internal devices with
external electrical contacts that doesn't have too many
of its own problems?
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC