The Society to Increase Mobility

P.O. Box 27386

Tampa, FL  33623
Text Box: The technology crosses a broad range of applications from military use to medical diagnosis. However, some of the most exciting and intriguing advances have been to the benefit of persons who overcome impairments on a daily basis. The devices offered in the field are an alternative means to treat the result of or the symptoms of common and uncommon medical conditions.The field categorically includes some break-through technologies such as cochlear implants for the hearing impaired and retinal implants for the visually challenged, as well as the “space-age” brain wave analyses. But it also includes more common devices such as surface stimulation for muscle retraining or pain management. The true learning curve with these devices involves how they apply to various impairments and how they cross over many medical conditions. Devices are being developed and used to treat a wide array of conditions from depression to epilepsy, from chronic pain to wound healing or from muscle atrophy to sensory restoration. The span of such applications is broadening. Text Box: Is neurotechnology an aspect of sci-fi electronics we see portrayed in movies where the human body is integrated with modern technology? Or is it the reading of brain waves to control other machines? Yes and no. Neurotechnology is an emerging and growing field. Technically, it is the application of medical electronics to improve or restore function of the human nervous system. Text Box: The technology can be segmented into five distinct categories as follows: Neural protheses which act to replace or improve function; Neuromodulation used to improve control through stimulation; Therapeutic stimulation applied to healing the body; Neurodiagnostics used to monitor and diagnosis conditions and Neural Computer Interfaces applying brain waves to external computer systems. In this issue, we look at neural protheses and neurodiagnostics as they are applied to breathing, coughing and sleep disorders. We hope you will find this newsletter to be informative and educational. Text Box: What is Neurotechnology?

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