Originally Published EMDM May/June 2002
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Human Being, Version 2.0
This is an exciting time in the medical device industry, as evidenced by some of the articles you've been reading recently in EMDM. Electroactive polymers imitating human muscles, synthetic spider silk derived from goat milk, and a needleless ocular drug-delivery device come to mind. In short, headlines that would have seemed sensational a decade ago now appear regularly in these pages.
But there's one story that we haven't reported on yet that I'd like to bring to your attention: the announcement on 22 March that British robotics scientist Kevin Warwick had undergone an experimental surgical procedure that wired his nervous system to a computer. The implications of this operation are wide ranging and could hold special significance for the medical device industry.
On 14 March, a microelectrode array was attached to the median nerve in Warwick's left arm during an unprecedented operation at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary. The array contains 100 spikes that are connected to Warwick's nerve fibres. Wires linked to the array are designed to relay his nerve impulses to a computer using an external radio transmitter. By recording specific nerve signals and then feeding them back to his arm, Warwick and his team hope to gain remote control over his hand.
Warwick says that one goal of this new experiment is to eventually develop technology to enable patients with spinal cord injuries to regain some control over their bodies by becoming cyborgs, or living man/machine hybrids. Given the medical sector's predilection for fully integrated solutions, I suppose we should have seen this coming. But if the experiment is successful, it could change the way humans interact with devices.
Of course, implantables are nothing new. Nor is the idea of using such devices to send electronic impulses that counteract the symptoms of disease. In fact, this approach has already been put to use in products such as Medtronic's Activa system, which employs two surgically implanted devices similar to cardiac pacemakers to block the signals that cause the disabling motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. (Readers can find more information on this device at www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/02/02/015.html.)
But what's different about Warwick's operation is the scope of his objective: to fully integrate the functions of the human brain with those of a computer. Warwick is interested not just in attaching devices to the human body, but in "directly harnessing the memory and mathematical capabilities of machines." In an article in The Guardian, Warwick predicts a future ruled by robots, with humans evolving into cyborgs in order to survive.
Although some of his ideas smack of science fiction, Warwick is no crackpot. In fact, he is a professor of cybernetics at Reading University (Reading, UK). His credentials include the presentation of the UK's prestigious Royal Institution Christmas Lectures and the receipt of the "Future of Health Technology Award 2000" in the Faculty Club of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA, USA). Warwick caused a stir in 1998, when he had a silicon chip implanted in his left arm, allowing him to turn lights on and off and open doors in his office by walking into rooms. It was a simple but powerful demonstration of a new technology.
As Warwick suggested in a February 2000 cover story in Wired magazine, the ability to transform humans into cyborgs could change the nature of medicine. "The potential for medical breakthroughs in existing disabilities is phenomenally important," he says. "Might it be possible to add an extra route for more senses, or to provide alternative pathways for blind or deaf people to 'see' or 'hear' with ultrasonic and infrared wavelengths?" To begin to answer questions like these, Warwick plans to feed himself ultrasonic information from sensors to see if his brain can process the information and endow him with superhuman perception. Using similar techniques, he also plans to explore the possibility of recording his sensations and emotions (such as pain or anger), and sending them back to himself—or to another person—to be relived.
What are the possible applications of such research in medical devices? I'll leave the product development up to you. Readers interested in learning more about Warwick's experiment will find an excellent source of information at his Web site: www.kevinwarwick.com.
Copyright ©2002 European Medical Device Manufacturer
