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Mark Wehrmeister
Trifectas Medical Corporation's implant has, "implications for general cognitive ...
hm
I am wondering what tools and knowledge base are available with FDA to approve ...
Neural devices stimulate growing market
Rick Merritt
11/12/2010 1:33 PM EST
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A startup hopes to get regulatory approval soon to sell what could be its first of a family of neural implants it envisions. The work at NeuroPace is just one part of an emerging neural device sector poised for significant growth.
After a decade of development NeuroPace (Mountain View, Calif.) submitted its request to the U.S. FDA in July for a brain implant to treat epilepsy. The company hopes its RNS system could be approved for use within a year.
"Over the next decade, I believe a variety of closed and open loop brain stimulation devices will replace destructive [surgical] procedures," said Martha Morrell, chief medical officer at NeuroPace in a talk at the BioMedDevice Forum here.
Trials with the epilepsy implant has given researchers new insights into the technology's potential to serve conditions ranging from pain management and depression to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
"This is the first time we could look into the brain and see what's happening in real time," Morrell said. "We see this as a disease management tool," she said.
The RNS implant, which uses two custom chips, found abnormal brain activity in epilepsy patients was more extensive than previously thought.
"No one had ambulatory records of epileptic patients before, and it turned out the seizure was just the tip of iceberg," she said. "We found these patients need stimulation as much as 600 times a day for periods of typically 1-2 minutes," she added.
Doctors can program the device to sense and respond to a broad range of conditions. NeuroPace also maintains a database for long term studies of brain wave activity.
Morrell said she sees the potential for devices that deliver tiny doses of drugs as well as electrical stimulation to targeted areas of the brain. New electrode arrays and sensors will help expand the field of conditions such devices can address. Beyond brain waves, researchers are studying the flow in the brain of blood, oxygen, neural transmitters—and even temperature changes--as other ways to influence conditions.
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Luis Sanchez
11/12/2010 5:00 PM EST
This makes me think of a day where complete mind control will be possible.
It will soon happen that equipment such as Emotiv becomes a common user interface.
This technology enables the continual study of the brain waves and a recognition of patterns will thus enable the establishment of commands that will trigger the lights power on, of, answer the phone incoming call or reject it or turn left and right on your vehicle... but... having no need for the hands... wouldn't that become boring? :).
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goafrit
11/13/2010 6:57 PM EST
I have already written that Homo sapiens will evolve to Bionics within the next 200 years and man could live immortal
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agk
11/14/2010 6:10 AM EST
0.6 to 1% of world population are effected by epilepsy,10 to 20% by major depression,many elderly effected by parkinson and other such sort of diseases.So The research and development in this area are to be further boosted manyfolds to get cure.Brain is the most sophisticated computer on our earth and learning how the brain functions during various moments in different people are not yet fully understood.The magnetic simulation by NeoStim is a good approach to treat these conditions. I hear now and then about the same magnet therapy by various local people to treat various diseases.The YOGA is one among them and by practising the same the electric signals and magnetic fields conducted in the body to every organ with minimum loss.Also the blood,oxygen carried to the brain becomes better by practising yogic excercises. Top up off all this is the venture capital investments mentioned in this article to develop new products. I forsee that one day an implanted miniature device will control a person and program the person to live on our earth with all good maximas
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prabhakar_deosthali
11/15/2010 2:55 AM EST
Such devices have a potential of using them to change the criminal's mind-set. So instead of punishing a criminal by putting him in jail and hoping that during his jail term he will improve, what we can do is implant a device in his brain which will diminish the urge to commit a crime ( such as rape, stealing, fraud, murder etc). because such devices will have the capability to change the behavior of a person, the psychologists can take tremendous advantage of this new technology. Of course if used in good sense!
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BalaLak
11/15/2010 11:08 AM EST
Unfortunately the converse will be true too! Then there will be that worry about this technology not getting in the hands of the wrong people! The recent 'Robot' movie I saw comes to mind!
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yalanand
11/15/2010 12:37 PM EST
True, I think we should laydown strong guidelines before this treatment is made public. You never know if the research is being used by the right people or wrong people.
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WDK_dave
11/15/2010 4:15 PM EST
It does make one think of the novel "Terminal Man". It's a technology with massive potential
positive & negative. I suspect with the tendency to abuse all technological & medical developments, if & when it becomes commonplace, "wireheading" will be become a phenomenon as well.
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hm
11/16/2010 12:30 AM EST
I am wondering what tools and knowledge base are available with FDA to approve this type of innovative procedures. Should not theere be different approch to evaluate this techniques in depth? As humane brain is much more complex then this simplifed model, it may create many more side effects and other problmes then it solves.
We need more trials and long term effect study before approving this neural simulator.
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Mark Wehrmeister
11/27/2010 2:03 AM EST
Trifectas Medical Corporation's implant has, "implications for general cognitive development in people who may have no disease conditions at all" according to the company spokesperson. This sounds like anyone that wants to improve their cognitive skills will be able to go to their local doctor for an implant in a few years. That could have interesting consequences in a whole lot of areas.
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