Implants for Sensing Magnetic Fields

Okian Warrior writes "Wired is running a story about people who have magnets implanted in their fingertips. As a result they can sense ambient magnetic fields, including whether AC wires are carrying current. From the article: 'The fingertip was chosen because of the high nerve density, and because the hands are constantly interacting with the environment, increasing the chances of sensing electromagnetism in the world.'"

Comments

Yeah, but....

[FalconZero]

How long before I can get my 802.11 sensing fingertip implants?

Wait

[EmperorKagato]

So now you'll be able to literally feel the power?

Re:Wait

[azav]

Actually, yes. That's what the article says. Being able to detect phone lines, magnetized speakers, etc...

I think this is actually similar to the active detection of electrical fields that many fish can do. Sharks have these "Ampules of Lorenzini" that they use to zero in on their pre from a distance by detecting the electrical signature of muscle contractions in a prey animal.

um....

[dark404]

if they touch my crt screen, they'll lose those implanted fingers!

Imagine the possibilities...

[one-eye-johnson]

Being near a big transformer gives the implant-bearer a vibrating fingertip. Just saying is all.

Oh, and going through an MRI might be a little painful.

Cyberdyne Restaurant

[Tackhead]

Walk into the doctor's office wherever you are, just walk in, say "Doc -- you can mod any parts you want at Cyberdyne Restaurant" -- and walk out.

You know, if one Slashdotter, just one Slashdotter does it, they may think he's really sick and they won't take him.

And if two Slashdotters do it -- in harmony -- they may think that they're both TROLLIN' and they won't take either of them.

And if THREE Slashdotters do it! Can you imagine three Slashdotters walkin' in, singin' a bar of "Cyberdyne Restaurant" and walkin' out? They might think it's a HACKER CONSPIRACY.

And can you imagine FIFTY Slashdotters a day? I said FIFTY Slashdotters a day -- walkin' in, singin ' a bar of "Cyberdyne Restaruant" and walkin' out? Friends, they may think it's a movement, and that's what it is.

The Cyberdyne Systems T-800 Model 101 Trans-Humanist Movement!

And all you gotta do to join it is to mod me (+1, Funny) the next time the mod points come 'round on the thread view. With feelin'.

You can mod any parts you want at Cyberdyne Restaurant (or be an Alice!)
You can mod any parts you want at Cyberdyne Restaurant
Magnets, implants, and MRI,
And then across the room you'll watch your finger fly,
Oh, you can mod any parts you want at Cyberdyne restaurant...

Re:Cyberdyne Restaurant

[Alsee]

And can you imagine FIFTY Slashdotters a day? I said FIFTY Slashdotters a day -- walkin' in, singin ' a bar of "Cyberdyne Restaruant" and walkin' out? Friends, they may think it's a movement, and that's what it is.

Most Slashdotters are too young to know what a movement is.

-

Re:Cyberdyne Restaurant

[spun]

Not me, I just had a movement this morning.

Seriously, though, most Slashdotters are probably too young to know Alice's Restaurant

Places you couldn't go

[Optikschmoptik]

We operate a 10-Tesla magnet in our lab. When it's on, all nearby metal needs to be secured and people with pacemakers shouldn't be anywhere near us. I suppose this wouldn't be quite as serious, but a field like that would likely rip your implants right out, or cause you to lose control of your fingers. It's not an 'everyday environment', but I would expect physics labs to be a little more common in the lives of the kind of people who would consider getting magnets implanted in their fingers.

Oh, and no MRIs either.

In case this sounds like a good idea...

[St. Arbirix]

It's not.

Re:In case this sounds like a good idea...

[jwiegley]

I just had to reply to this thread after reading the bmezine article.

Here's the summary of my opinion: "Children do not try this at home. Hell, don't even try this at your good friends home like the original idiot did."

Frankly, this guy is an idiot. The first thing that came to my mind when seeing his fingertip was: Blood infection. Bright red, vascular looking, painful... blood infection. This is NOT something you should take to your "body-mod" friend to be "fixed". This is flat out an emergency room visit. I'm not a medical doctor but if this is a blood infection it has the ability to travel quickly, infect organs and cause death in a surprisingly rapid fashion.

This is something that needs professional medical equipment to make sure the damage is repaired properly. He's "guessing" they migrated together... He needs an X-ray, not a guess. He needs this for several reasons. To pinpoint where the damage and pieces are so they can be removed with minimal invasion instead of poking around until you've found it all. He also needs follow-up X-rays to confirm that all pieces were found and removed.

I certainly would not go to my body-mod (oh hell, let's just call a spade a spade... body-hack) for the repair. For best results I would be looking for this to be done by a vascular surgeon or neurologist so that I have the best chance of not loosing any senesitivity in my finger and preventing any vascular damage that could result in necrosis.

He needs this to be done in a sterile environment not on somebody's desk. He risks an equal or worse post-hack infection (that would sort of be like a post-surgical secondary infection but this was NOT surgery; this was an adult being stupid.)

I hope most slashdotters don't think this is cool, cause it's not.

Re:In case this sounds like a good idea...

[MustardMan]

A few points...

Tom Brazda is no "hack". He is one of a handful of people who PIONEERED the modern body modification scene. He invented a lot of the tools and techniques that can be found in any piercing studio on the beach today. He helped push the industry to its limits, while also helping spread word about how to do things as safely and carefully as possible. People like Tom are the reason every respectable studio on the planet has an autoclave.

Second, Shannon Larratt is no idiot. A risk taker, sure. Someone who uses his own body as a testbed for the untried? Absolutely. But an idiot? Not a chance. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he knows the risks. He's written countless articles about the safety aspects of piercings, tattoos, and more extreme body modifications. He's quite well aware of the risks, and indeed most likely purposely chose to have Tom do the removal because that way he could document every step of the process for others to learn.

Third - read the article more carefully. Another person with the same implant went to a doctor to have it removed. The Dr. fucked it up. The local emergency room person may or may not do the same. The problem with Doctors is, just like everything else in the world - there are ones who are good, and there are ones who are not. A perfect example of this is doctors who tell people with an infected piercing to remove it and shoot them up with antibiotics. This can often be a VERY bad idea, because the piercing can no longer be properly cleaned, AND it can no longer drain. You better hope those antibiotics work, because the good Doc has just taken away all but one of your treatment options.

And last but not least - your quip about a sterile environment shows just how clueless you are. Any good quality piercer will have sterility routines that put your average family practice doctor to shame. EVERYTHING is autoclaved, needles are disposed of in proper medical sharps containers, studios are kept immaculately clean and gloves are changed CONSTANTLY during a procedure.

My piercier practices better hygiene than my oral surgeon.

Well

[ShooterNeo]

A far better approach, albeit more complex, would be to build a microchip - powered by induction like RFID circuitry - that could generate signals in the right voltage and frequency range to stimulate nerves. A surgeon would carefully place the chip along a nerve inside your hand somewhere, placing the electrode side parallel to the nerve. The chip would have signal processing abilities and could be used to :

1. detect the signal pattern for pain and cancel it out
2. interact with novel gadgets like a magnetic or radio field sensor, or a geiger counter
3. Pick up signals from one part of the body, and transmit them to another chip located in a damaged limb somewhere that the nerves have been cut from

All of this is basic signal processing, simpler than the state of the art in radio by a considerable margin (nerve signals are MUCH, MUCH slower)

I don't understand why this sort of thing isn't routinely done. I know there are implantable nerve stimulators to stop phantom limb pain, I know that surgeons don't need FDA approval to perform trials on gadets like this - they just need a researcher to create a prototype that is appropriately coated with bioneutral materials and sterile, and the surgeon can implant it into any consenting adult. Surgery is not a medical procedure that has to be specifically approved : this is how the variants of the gastic bypass were developed, such as the bands around the stomach approach. A particular surgeon decided to try it, and others adopted it.

Should be a whole thriving industry by now.

I think I'd prefer something external...

[Vellmont]

It sounds like it'd be a usefull tool for electricians or audio engineers, but it'd be far more practical if it were an external device that you could take off. I don't know many people that want to permanently place something in their body that could easily lead to damage to your finger. How would a thin stick-on magnet that you could attach to a finger work?

Re:Where's North?

[EvanED]

Smash your finger with a hammer and end up with chunks of metal floating around.

I don't know about you, but if I smash my fingers with a hammer it wouldn't be the chunks of metal that are on my mind.

Even worse

[shigelojoe]

Finishing your post in the subject is