I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Monday, April 24, 2006

The Tongue as Interface For Soldiers (The "Brain Port" Device)

Via ABC News:
A narrow strip of red plastic connects the Brain Port to the tongue where 144 microelectrodes transmit information through nerve fibers to the brain. Instead of holding and looking at compasses and bluky-hand-held sonar devices, the divers can processes the information through their tongues, said Dr. Anil Raj, the project's lead scientist...

In testing, blind people found doorways, noticed people walking in
front of them and caught balls. A version of the device, expected to be
commercially marketed soon, has restored balance to those whose
vestibular systems in the inner ear were destroyed by antibiotics.
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