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FDA Starts Looking at Next-Generation Prosthetics

posted by martyb on Thursday November 27 2014, @01:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the thinking-about-it dept.
Science

tonyPick writes:

Nature has an article on the future regulation of thought controlled prosthetics.

For the first time since accidents severed the neural connection between their brains and limbs, a small number of patients are reaching out and feeling the world with prosthetic devices wired directly to their brains.
...
The advances are also starting to attract serious attention from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is wrestling with how best to regulate such brain–computer interfaces to ensure that they are safe

The article looks at the way proposed regulation may affect the work of private companies in this area, and references recent work at Caltech. More background to this work and other efforts is available in this New Scientist article from October.

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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by dlb on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:12PM

    by dlb (4790) on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:12PM (#120598)
    The amputation of limbs is accompanied by a phenomenon called phantom limb. The brain keeps firing as if the limb were there, making it seem to the patient as if it were. This can cause problems. For instance, if there's phantom pain, there's no direct way to treat it.

    However, considering how the malleable the brain is at redistributing its resources when certain functions and areas within it suddenly become obsolete, and combining that with actual new neural attachments, there's real hope for such a prosthetic replacement to be assimilated into a natural-feeling new limb. One that can be used "naturally."

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:42PM (#120605)

    Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply.

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:54PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Thursday November 27 2014, @02:54PM (#120610) Journal

    Any guess how long FDA regulation is in place to scratch the back of corporate coffers to the detriment of ordinary citizens?

    • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday November 27 2014, @05:38PM

      by Immerman (3985) on Thursday November 27 2014, @05:38PM (#120651)

      Screwage to commence in 5...4...3... oh wait, we've already been screwing everyone for decades, never mind.

      If it weren't for the huge number of assholes and idiots who really do set out to screw people over even worse than the FDA I'd be in favor of disbanding them completely. At least once it's been conclusively proven that Corporate Sponsor X's product is a danger to human life the FDA usually requires at least some kind of warning in small print on the back of that folded-over portion of the label you didn't notice. Get rid of them and you lose even that.