One field of assistive technology I find particularly exciting is neural engineering – actually enhancing, replacing, or repairing neural systems. Examples of this include cochlear implants to assist hearing, and deep brain stimulation to help with neurological motor problems like the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Cochlear implants have external parts that sit behind the ear, and internal parts to stimulate the brain. Unlike hearing aids, they do not amplify sound. They can actually be effective for people who are completely deaf. The implants bypass the ear, directly turning sound into electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve. Hearing with a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing, but with some time and adjustment people with the implants can learn to recognize and understand many sounds in their environment.
Another assistive technology in this category is deep brain stimulation, a surgical implant used to treat things like Parkinson’s. It works by sending electrical stimulation, using something similar to a pacemaker, to specific areas of the brain that control movement. The idea is that it can help block abnormal signals that cause symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Here is a video of a man demonstrating his symptoms of Parkinson’s with and without his deep brain stimulation implant turn ed on. With the stimulator turned off, he has hand tremors and has difficulty walking, but when it is turned on, he can walk more normally and his tremors aren’t noticeable.
I think it’s amazing that there is technology that can directly stimulate neurons in the brain to help with disabilities. The field of biotechnology is rapidly growing, and there is a lot of research currently being done to improve technologies such as these and to develop new ideas. It’s exciting to see what will be developed in the next few years.
Sources:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/coch.aspx
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/deep_brain_stimulation/deep_brain_stimulation.htm
Interesting post, thanks for bringing up a topic we haven’t discussed much in class. Indeed the neural engineering opportunities are very exciting! Do you have any idea if the procedures are covered by insurance? Are there additional applications in the works that have not yet met FDA approval?