The cyborgs are coming: 5 implants for sci-fi fans
From believable implants, to ones that seem to have come out of a sci-fi novel, we look at five current devices that can be implanted to create cyborgs
1. Implants improving vision
The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is intended to provide electrical stimulation of the retina to induce visual perception in blind people. The Argus II implant is made up of two parts. It has an internal implant, with an electrode array, which is embedded in the eye’s retina and an external pair of glasses that has a forward facing camera.
By Second Sight
2. Implants improving vital organs
Micra is a pacemaker so small that it rests inside the heart itself. Unlike traditional pacemakers implanted under the skin, the Micra is slipped on a catheter through the femoral artery and implanted, in its entirety, inside the right ventricle. It operates there without electrical wires that can break or get infected.
By Medtronic
3. Implants helping to override pain
The RestoreSensor SureScan MRI neurostimulation system can manipulate nerve pathways to significantly reduce chronic back pain. The implant is placed under a patient’s skin to deliver electrical impulses to the spinal cord, which act to block pain signals from going to the brain.
By Medtronic
4. Implants letting people move things with their minds
The BrainGate system consists of a sensor, a decoder and an external devie. The sensor is implanted in the brain and records signals directly related to imagined limb movement, the decoder turns the brain signals into a useful command for an external device, and the external device could be anything from a standard computer desktop to a prosthetic or robotic limb.
5. Implants controling the brain
About the width of a human hair, this device combines brain implants with a remote control system that can deliver drugs directly to the brain. It has the ability to genetically modify individual neurons and use Optogenetics to alter brain activity.