'We Have the Technology'
From: MarketWatch - 07/21/2005
By: Kristen Gerencher

Spinal cord stimulators and cochlear implants are some of the commercially
available computer technologies being used to recover lost sensory input or
manage chronic pain. The stimulators employ internal leads that channel
electrical currents over nerve fibers that relay pain signals to the brain,
generating a vibrating or tingling sensation to muffle the signals, says
Advanced Bionics' Doug Lynch. Chronic pain specialist Dr. Clifford Bernstein
cautions that such devices do not mask all pain sensations, but notes that
spinal cord simulators have fewer side effects than narcotic painkillers, and
are less invasive than surgery as well as reversible and
patient-customizable; in addition, implantation requires no hospitalization,
and the stimulators can be used for a trial period before surgery.
Stimulators with rechargeable batteries are expected to invigorate the
market, given the many patients whose use of such devices drains power
rapidly. Lynch does not expect the market for cochlear implants to grow as
fast, given the cultural and infrastructure obstacles they face. Cochlear
implants use two computers--one within the skull and one worn outside the
body--to circumvent dead hair cells in the ear and stimulate nerve endings in
order to restore audio input to the hearing impaired, but some sufferers of
hearing loss may object to the devices either because they prefer sign
language or are self-conscious. There are also other considerations: Michael
Chorost, who received a cochlear implant, says he had to train his brain to
interpret the signals generated by the device as sound because the artificial
stimulation differs from biological stimulation. Chorost chronicled his
struggle in his memoir, "Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More
Human," and he says his cochlear implant "made me more human...not because of
the technology itself, but the choices I made to reconstruct my own outlook
on life."  

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Links:
Advanced Bionics
http://www.advancedbionics.com/

Getting The Gift Of Hearing
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/02/27/earlyshow/series/week_of_wishes/main602627.shtml

Reflections On My Cochlear Implant
http://newsletter.healthyhearing.com/library/testimonial_content.asp?testimonial_id=82

Computer implants aid hearing, walking
http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2005/07/computer_implan.html

Interview with Doug Lynch
http://newsletter.healthyhearing.com/library/interview_content.asp?interview_id=61

Clifford A. Bernstein, MD
http://www.opiates.com/clifford-bernstein.html

Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human
http://www.michaelchorost.com/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618378294/002-4496463-5862435?v=glance
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0527/050706_arts_thisweeksreads.php

Book Excerpt
http://www.audiologyonline.com/articles/arc_disp.asp?id=1402

Michael Chorost Tells Us What Bionic Hearing Feels Like
http://www.noevalleyvoice.com/2005/July-August/Chor.html

New Book Titled Rebuilt Offers Unique Perspective on Life with a Cochlear Implant
http://www.bionicear.com/news/article.asp?ArticleID=154

Michael Chorost's Cochlear-Implant Book, Rebuilt, Is About A Whole Lot More Than
Cochlear Implants
http://www.hearingmojo.com/2005/06/postmodern_man_.html

Hi, I'm bionic
http://www.4hearingloss.com/archives/2005/06/hi_im_bionic.html

Part Man, Part Machine from the The Leonard Lopate Show
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/06202005

The Man with the Bionic Ear
http://www.techcentralstation.com/061305A.html
