Neuroprostheses are implantable devices that replace or improve the function of the central nervous system. Cochlear implants are the most famous and widely used, with over 100,000 users. There are three types: sensory, motor, and cognitive. Research is ongoing, with developments in visual and motor prostheses improving the quality of life for those with disabilities. Cognitive prostheses are still in development.
Neuroprostheses are implantable devices designed to replace or improve the function of a certain aspect of the central nervous system. The most famous and most used neuroprosthesis is the cochlear implant, which bypasses the eardrum and directly stimulates the human auditory nerve, giving the power of hearing to those without it. The first cochlear implant was built in 1957 and today these implants are used by over 100,000 people.
There are three main types of neuroprostheses: sensory prostheses, motor prostheses, and cognitive prostheses. Sensory prostheses obtain information in sensory areas such as hearing and vision, motor prostheses help regulate or stimulate malfunctioning motor functions, and cognitive prostheses are a field still largely on the drawing board of future prostheses to replace or enhance. the problem areas in the brain itself. Although the term “neuro” makes us think of the brain, all neuroprostheses in use today replace aspects of the nervous system outside the brain.
Visual neuroprosthesis research has given rise to extremely thin electrodes, thinner than a human hair. This has helped advance tangential areas of neurophysiology, but sadly true vision prostheses – devices that would allow the blind to see – are still under development. The scientists observed that selective stimulation of the visual cortex allows subjects to see phosphenes – the tiny blurs of light you see when you rub your eyes – in predetermined areas of the visual field. Research has produced vision prostheses that give patients blurry vision with a pixel resolution of about 20 x 20, but these are only experimental and not ready for mass use.
In the field of motor neuroprostheses, there is the well-known pacemaker, which stimulates the heartbeat when the natural group of pacemaker cells fails. Bladder control neuroprostheses have helped patients with paraplegia due to spinal cord damage. In recent years motor neuroprostheses for conscious movement control have had a certain resonance. Patients who are totally paralyzed can receive these implants, which allow them to control a computer mouse to type messages, play games or browse the web. For someone who is otherwise stuck in an unresponsive body, these implants can radically improve the quality of life.
Research in neuroprosthetics is an ongoing and cutting-edge area of science. We should expect to see many more developments in the future, some of which will challenge common assumptions about the interface between minds and machines.
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