Pentagon Developing Brain Implants to Help Injured Troops
Approximately 10 to 20 percent of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are doing so with brain injuries. Brain injuries also afflict 1.7 million Americans each year.
According to a recent report, in hopes of helping the injured troops, the Pentagon is introducing a new program to help heal the brains of injured troops called REPAIR (Reorganization and Plasticity to Accelerate Injury Recover). Ten professors and research teams will collaborate on the project, which will develop implants made of electrodes or optical fibers. Those implants will rest on the surface of the brain, reading electrical signals from neurons and delivering light pulses in order to stimulate other brain regions.
A lot of progress has already been made in studying brain injuries. Scientists can create models of brain activity and can record the pulses emitted by neurons in the brain. However, they haven’t yet been able to change the pulses in order to turn brain circuits on and off.
The project will first conduct tests on mice, rats and monkey, to understand how regions of the brain interact. Once they understand that, they are going to mimic those interactions. Hopefully the implants will eventually help not only vets with brain injuries but also those who have suffered from a stroke or brain tumor.
Brain injuries can be debilitating and life changing. If you or someone in your family has suffered a brain injury in the San Fernando Valley because of someone else’s negligence, the victim may be entitled to recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and a decreased quality of life, among other damages. Call the dedicated Northridge brain injury attorneys at the Mandell Law Firm today at 818-886-6600.
