Implants Usher in a Health Revolution
From: Machine Designn - 05/05/2015

Implants have been shown to improve healing time and treat diseases - and now
they are biodegradable, to boot.

DARPA's ElectRx (pronounced electrics) uses neuromodulation to target a small
group of neurons to diffuse to large areas of the nervous system. This means
that an implant can monitor a patient’s health with a closed-loop circuit. If
an organ is not functioning properly, the implant can stimulate the nerves
necessary to regain normal function of a system or organ.

It is hoped that this technology will someday be able to help alleviate
post-traumatic stress syndrome, Parkinson's, depression, and other
conditions. One implant designed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been used to
help patients deal with chronic inflammation and arthritis pain.

GSK is starting to look into whether this technology could use other types of
implants, preventing the airway spasms of asthma, controlling the appetite in
obese people, or restoring normal insulin production for diabetes sufferers.
Its potential for epilepsy treatment is also being assessed.

Read the entire article at:
http://machinedesign.com/medical/implants-usher-health-revolution

Related:
Shape-Shifting Sensors Could Explore inside Patients
http://machinedesign.com/sensors/shape-shifting-sensors-could-explore-inside-patients

Powering Implants with Ultrasound
http://machinedesign.com/medical/powering-implants-ultrasound