Scientists hope 'bionic' cat eyes will help fight human blindness

The cochlear implant for the deaf was also developed using cats.

2/22/2007 - Veterinary opthalmologist Kristina Narfstrom hopes to use cats — whose eye structure is similar to that of humans — to fine-tune chips meant to be help people with diseased retinas.

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Gingersnap's condition is similar to retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable genetic disease in humans that strikes one out of every 3,500 Americans and often causes blindness. Narfstrom, who discovered the feline version of the disease among Abyssinians in her native Sweden, is implanting special silicon chips in partially blind cats in a bid to help replace or possibly repair diseased retinas in humans. Retinitis pigmentosa attacks the eye's photoreceptor cells, also called rods and cones, that register light and color.

The chips, which provide their own energy, have shown encouraging results in clinical human trials, in some cases improving sight in people with retinitis pigmentosa or at least slowing the disease's development. Narfstrom said chips have been implanted in 30 people. Narfstrom's cats will help researchers fine-tune the chips' performance and train physicians on surgical techniques to implant the devices, because the structure of cat eyes is similar to human eyes.

The 2-millimeter-wide chips, developed by Optobionics Corp. of Naperville, Ill., are surgically implanted in the back of the eye. Each chip's surface is covered with 5,000 microphotodiodes that react to light, sending electric signals along the eye's optic nerve to the brain. "We're placing it right where the photoreceptors are and if they're lacking, this is supposed to replace what they're doing," she said. "At this point, it's impulses of light they're seeing (as opposed to images), but the aim of the research is to get more information out of the chip."

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Medical concerns about microchip implants...

Chip implants linked to animal tumors
Sat Sep 8, 2007 - When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved implanting microchips in humans, the manufacturer said it would save lives, letting doctors scan the tiny transponders to access patients' medical records almost instantly. The FDA found "reasonable assurance" the device was safe, and a sub-agency even called it one of 2005's top "innovative technologies."

But neither the company nor the regulators publicly mentioned this: A series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had "induced" malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats. "The transponders were the cause of the tumors," said Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, explaining in a phone interview the findings of a 1996 study he led at the Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich.

Leading cancer specialists reviewed the research for The Associated Press and, while cautioning that animal test results do not necessarily apply to humans, said the findings troubled them. Some said they would not allow family members to receive implants, and all urged further research before the glass-encased transponders are widely implanted in people. To date, about 2,000 of the so-called radio frequency identification, or RFID, devices have been implanted in humans worldwide, according to VeriChip Corp.

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Did the agency know of the tumor findings before approving the chip implants? The FDA declined repeated AP requests to specify what studies it reviewed.

The FDA is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, which, at the time of VeriChip's approval, was headed by Tommy Thompson. Two weeks after the device's approval took effect on Jan. 10, 2005, Thompson left his Cabinet post, and within five months was a board member of VeriChip Corp. and Applied Digital Solutions. He was compensated in cash and stock options. Thompson, until recently a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, says he had no personal relationship with the company as the VeriChip was being evaluated, nor did he play any role in FDA's approval process of the RFID tag. "I didn't even know VeriChip before I stepped down from the Department of Health and Human Services," he said in a telephone interview.

Also making no mention of the findings on animal tumors was a June report by the ethics committee of the American Medical Association, which touted the benefits of implantable RFID devices. Had committee members reviewed the literature on cancer in chipped animals? No, said Dr. Steven Stack, an AMA board member with knowledge of the committee's review. Was the AMA aware of the studies? No, he said.

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Hope for the paralyzed...

Paralysed man's mind is 'read'
Thursday, 15 November 2007, Electrodes were planted in the part of the brain which controls speech

Scientists say they may be on the brink of translating the thoughts of a man who can no longer speak into words after a pioneering experiment.

Electrodes have been implanted in the brain of Eric Ramsay, who has been "locked in" - conscious but paralysed - since a car crash eight years ago.

These have been recording pulses in the areas of the brain involved in speech. Now, New Scientist magazine reports, they are to use the signals he generates to create speech software.

Although the data is still being analysed, researchers at Boston University believe they can correctly identify the sound Mr Ramsay's brain is imagining some 80% of the time.

More BBC NEWS | Health | Paralysed man's mind is 'read'

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What's on yer mind?...

Guess what? Military funds mind-reading science
Aug 15, `08 - Here's a mind-bending idea: The U.S. military is paying scientists to study ways to read people's thoughts.

The hope is that the research could someday lead to a gadget capable of translating the thoughts of soldiers who suffered brain injuries in combat or even stroke patients in hospitals. But the research also raises concerns that such mind-reading technology could be used to interrogate the enemy. Armed with a $4 million grant from the Army, scientists are studying brain signals to try to decipher what a person is thinking and to whom the person wants to direct the message. The project is a collaboration among researchers at the University of California, Irvine; Carnegie Mellon University; and the University of Maryland.

The scientists use brain wave-reading technology known as electroencephalography, or EEG, which measures the brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. It works like this: Volunteers wear an electrode cap and are asked to think of a word chosen by the researchers, who then analyze the brain activity. In the future, scientists hope to develop thought-recognition software that would allow a computer to speak or type out a person's thought.

"To have a person think in a free manner and then figure out what that is, we're years away from that," said lead researcher Michael D'Zmura, who heads UC Irvine's cognitive sciences department. D'Zmura said such a system would require extensive training by people trying to send a message and dismisses the notion that thoughts can be forced out. "This will never be used in a way without somebody's real, active cooperation," he said.

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based defense research firm, said the technology is still too nascent to be of practical use for the military. "They're still in the proof of principle stage," Pike said. A message left with the Army was not immediately returned Friday.

My Way News - Guess what? Military funds mind-reading science