Brain Implants Get Brainier

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Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday January 28, 2015 @05:31PM from the thinking-better dept.

the_newsbeagle writes "Did my head just beep?" wonders a woman who just received a brain implant to treat her intractable epilepsy. We're entering a cyborg age of medicine, with implanted stimulators that send pulses of electricity into the brain or nervous system to prevent seizures or block pain. The first generation of devices sent out pulses in a constant and invariable rhythm, but device-makers are now inventing smart stimulators that monitor the body for signs of trouble and fire when necessary.

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Sci fi by Iamthecheese · 2015-01-28 18:00 · Score: 4, Interesting
Brain enhancements are a tall order. We need:
- Better knowledge of human brain function
- Microbots that can evade the immune system
- Microbots that can move through brain tissue without causing harm
- Microbots that can link together to from insulated wires, or build insulated wires that are safe in vivo.
- Microbots that can transmit power and information through several layers of nerve and other tissue
The thing is, we're getting there. These are no longer science fiction: the path to each of these abilities is very clear. And when these abilities converge we'll have matrix style give-me-knowledge-now and complete VR. Not to mention brain augmentation. This future is far, far closer than it seems.
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If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
Re:Entering? Cyborgs? by Anubis+IV · 2015-01-28 18:25 · Score: 4, Informative

While some pacemakers are programmable, they are not "smart stimulators that monitor the body for signs of trouble and fire when necessary".
On the contrary, that's exactly what they are. From Wikipedia's pacemaker page:

Modern pacemakers usually have multiple functions. The most basic form monitors the heart's native electrical rhythm. When the pacemaker does not detect a heartbeat within a normal beat-to-beat time period, it will stimulate the ventricle of the heart with a short low voltage pulse.
The earliest ones simply stimulated the heart at regular intervals, but this newer variety that monitors the heart for signs of trouble (e.g. irregular heartbeat) and fires when necessary has been around for decades.