RE: BOOK: I, Cyborg - Kevin Warwick

From: Ramez Naam (mez@apexnano.com)
Date: Tue Aug 05 2003 - 19:55:29 MDT

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    From: Brett Paatsch [mailto:bpaatsch@bigpond.net.au]
    > Ramez Naam <mez@apexnano.com> writes:
    > > Warwick wasn't even the first neurobot. There were
    > > at least 50,000 people before him. Today there are
    > > 80,000 people with cochlear implants.
    >
    > > There are at least 30,000 people with deep brain
    > > stimulating electrodes to control the sympoms of
    > > Parkinson's. There are hundreds of people taking
    > > part in clinical trials of deep brain stimulators to control
    > > chronic pain, depression, and obsessive compulsive
    > > disorder. And there are more than a dozen people
    > > who have electrodes in their visual cortex, their
    > > motor cortex, or their retinas.
    >
    > Do you have sources for the Parkinson's electrodes,
    > the deep brain stimulators and the motor cortex stuff
    > you mention above Mez?

    Medtronic is the company that makes the most popular deep brain
    stimulator (DBS) for Parkinson's. See
    http://www.medtronic.com/activa/physician/implantable.html

    Phil Kennedy, who did the first implantation of an electrode into
    human motor cortex, founded a company called Neural Signals.
    http://www.neuralsignals.com/

    The stuff on using DBS for other diseases is more in journals than
    press. But if you search for [DBS depression] or [DBS pain] or [DBS
    OCD] you'll find plenty of links.

    You can also find numerous reviews of that work in journals like
    Science and in the lay press. Search on "Phil Kennedy" + "Johnny Ray"
    for example.

    And if you're really interested in the state of the art of brain
    implants, I can send you the chapter I've written on the topic.

    mez



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