[ RadSafe ] Brains, Bioengineering, Etc.

[JPreisig at aol.com]

Dear Radsafe:
 
     Hey All.  Hope you all are well.
 
     What follows is probably off-topic from radiation  safety.  Oh well.
 
     Gene therapy is being used to bring eyesight back  to people who have 
been blind for a
long time.
 
     Computer chips/mini computers are being installed  in peoples' brains 
to limit the strength
and duration of Epilepsy and other seizure events.  Also, some people  have 
working dogs who 
can sense when seizures are coming --- the dogs go for help, or do whatever 
 they are trained to do.
 
    People are getting cochlear implants to restore lost  hearing.  People 
are also doing other things
to give people their hearing back --- some sort of thing with sensing  
vibrations off of jawbones or other
head parts.  It apparently works.
 
    At places like Johns Hopkins, UPenn etc. scientists and  engineers are 
installing receivers
and/or transmitters at the back of eyeballs to restore or possibly restore  
eyesight.  I guess the blind person 
could be fitted with CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or mini-camera systems to  
allow the person to see.
Guess the blind person would also have to wear a power supply somewhere on  
his person.
 
    What's next???  Well, here's one idea for the  future...Maybe soon.  
Mentally retarded people might
someday be helped by placing a computer chip in their brain or placing a  
transmitter/receiver in their
brain which could transmit to a working memory/computer system carried by  
such a person in a suitcase
or whatever.  It seems retarded person's motor controls work just  fine.  I 
don't know how good a 
brain's memory works in retarded people --- maybe a memory section would be 
 needed in any 
computer assist device.  Then, of course, a working Central Processing  
Unit (CPU) would have to be
carried along by the patient, to do actual thinking work.  Perhaps the  CPU 
could be toggled on 
or off, depending on the needs of the patient.  Sure this all probably  all 
a ways off and would require
considerable engineering and development effort.  It's worth a  try???  
Best wishes to my friends
Patty P. and  Helaine R. who work with special education children  everyday.
 
    Regards,   Joseph R. (Joe) Preisig