'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." View the entire article at: (Registration required) http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?dist=¶m=archive&siteid=google&guid=%7BE346CA87%2D4485%2D4040%2D800A%2D301BCD5213AD%7D&garden=&minisite= 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