Category Archives: Neurotechnology

The latest market analysis report on the Neurotechnology market performs industry diagnostic as a way to accumulate valuable data into the business environment of the Neurotechnology market for the forecast period 2019 2026. The subject matter experts behind the research have collected vital statistics on the market share, size and growth as a way to help stakeholders, business owners and field marketing personnel identify the areas to reduce costs, improve sales, explore new opportunities and streamline their processes. Unbiased perspective on intangible aspects such as key challenges, threats, new entrants as well as strengths and weaknesses of the prominent vendors too are discussed in this market intelligence report.

In market segmentation by manufacturers, the report covers the following companies-

Cisco Systems Inc. BMC Software Inc. EntIT Software LLC ABB Limited Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Dell Inc. Oracle Corporation Fujitsu Ltd

Others

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Scope of the Report:

The extensive assessment of real-time data on the business environment offers a more specialized view of threats and challenges companies are likely to face in the years to come. In addition, the unique expertise of the researchers behind the study in strategic growth consulting enables product owners identifies important definition, product classification, and application.

Coverage of critical data on investment feasibility, return on investment, demand and supply, import and export, consumption volume and production capability aim at supporting the business owners in multiple growth phases including the initial stages, product development and prioritizing potential geography. All valuable data assessed in the report are presented through charts, tables, and graphic images.

In market segmentation by geographical regions, the report has analyzed the following regions-

North America

Europe

China

Japan

Middle East & Africa

India

South America

Others

In market segmentation by types of Neurotechnology, the report covers-

Imaging Modalities Neurostimulation Cranial Surface Measurement Neurological Implants NeuroprostheticsOthers

In market segmentation by applications of the Neurotechnology, the report covers the following uses-

Hospitals Clinics Diagnostic Centers Research InstitutesOthers

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A thorough diligence and probe into market segmentation, customer preference, production capability and gross margin are discussed with the aim to ensure business owners are positioned to successes. The study considers, in particular, the impact of technology innovation, recent collaborations and product launches for the forecast period of 2019 2026. Assessment of various factors on a targets ability to meet the forecast results forms the basis of evaluation of this market intelligence report on Neurotechnology market.

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Neurotechnology Market Report 2019 | Industry Size, Share, Trend And Forecast Is A Professional And In-Depth Study By 2026 - Alpha News Report

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Using a mathematical framework with roots in artificial intelligence and robotics, researchers have uncovered the process for how people make decisions in groups.

The researchers also found they could predict a persons choice more often than more traditional descriptive methods.

In large groups of essentially anonymous members, people make choices based on a model of the mind of the group and an evolving simulation of how a choice will affect that theorized mind, the study finds.

Our results are particularly interesting in light of the increasing role of social media in dictating how humans behave as members of particular groups, says senior author Rajesh Rao, a professor in the University of Washingtons Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology.

We can almost get a glimpse into a human mind and analyze its underlying computational mechanism for making collective decisions.

In online forums and social media groups, the combined actions of anonymous group members can influence your next action, and conversely, your own action can change the future behavior of the entire group, Rao says.

The researchers wanted to find out what mechanisms are at play in settings like these.

In the paper, they explain that human behavior relies on predictions of future states of the environmenta best guess at what might happenand the degree of uncertainty about that environment increases drastically in social settings. To predict what might happen when another human is involved, a person makes a model of the others mind, called a theory of mind, and then uses that model to simulate how ones own actions will affect that other mind.

While this act functions well for one-on-one interactions, the ability to model individual minds in a large group is much harder. The new research suggests that humans create an average model of a mind representative of the group even when the identities of the others are not known.

To investigate the complexities that arise in group decision-making, the researchers focused on the volunteers dilemma task, wherein a few individuals endure some costs to benefit the whole group. Examples of the task include guarding duty, blood donation, and stepping forward to stop an act of violence in a public place, they explain in the paper.

To mimic this situation and study both behavioral and brain responses, the researchers put subjects in an MRI, one by one, and had them play a game. In the game, called a public goods game, the subjects contribution to a communal pot of money influences others and determines what everyone in the group gets back. A subject can decide to contribute a dollar or decide to free-ridethat is, not contribute to get the reward in the hopes that others will contribute to the pot.

If the total contributions exceed a predetermined amount, everyone gets two dollars back. The subjects played dozens of rounds with others they never met. Unbeknownst to the subject, a computer mimicking previous human players actually simulated the others.

We can almost get a glimpse into a human mind and analyze its underlying computational mechanism for making collective decisions, says lead author Koosha Khalvati, a doctoral student in the Allen School. When interacting with a large number of people, we found that humans try to predict future group interactions based on a model of an average group members intention. Importantly, they also know that their own actions can influence the group. For example, they are aware that even though they are anonymous to others, their selfish behavior would decrease collaboration in the group in future interactions and possibly bring undesired outcomes.

In their study, the researchers were able to assign mathematical variables to these actions and create their own computer models for predicting what decisions the person might make during play. They found that their model predicts human behavior significantly better than reinforcement learning modelsthat is, when a player learns to contribute based on how the previous round did or didnt pay out regardless of other playersand more traditional descriptive approaches.

Given that the model provides a quantitative explanation for human behavior, Rao wonders if it may be useful when building machines that interact with humans.

In scenarios where a machine or software is interacting with large groups of people, our results may hold some lessons for AI, he says. A machine that simulates the mind of a group and simulates how its actions affect the group may lead to a more human-friendly AI whose behavior is better aligned with the values of humans.

The results appear in Science Advances.

Additional coauthors are from UC Davis; New York University; and the Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod. The National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Templeton World Charity Foundation funded the work.

Source: Jake Ellison for University of Washington

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Trying to read the 'mind of a group' shapes our decisions online - Futurity: Research News

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Global Facial Recognition Market Top Key Players, Regions and Application Outlook Upto 2019 to 2028 - Industry Planning

Nextmind, a Paris based neuro technology startup developing the next generation of brain computer interfaces, today unveiled the worlds first brain-sensing wearable that delivers real-time device control using just a persons thoughts at Slush 2019. This groundbreaking technology is a first-of-its-kind, noninvasive, brain-computer interface that translates brain signals instantly from the users visual cortex into digital commands for any device in real time.

Founded in 2017 byGwendal Kerdavid and Sid Kouider,NextMinds groundbreaking technology, based on proven scientific research conducted over the past 20 years, translates brain signals from the visual cortex into digital commands in real time, enabling easier interaction and control of computers, AR/VR headsets or any device.

This technology breakthrough represents the next frontier of human-computer interaction and we are truly humbled to be here today introducing NextMind to the world, said Kouider. For those who have said it would never be possible with noninvasive technology to communicate intent and implement actions directly from our brain to the world around us, its time to believe because this is real, and the possibilities are truly endless.

The small, light-weight, round device fits into the back of a cap or headband, and rests gently on the users head. It captures data from the electrical signals created by the users neuron activity in the visual cortex, and using machine learning algorithms, transforms that output into communication that enables easier interaction and control with a computer, AR/VR headset or any device within the Internet of Things.

According to Kouider, a limited number of NextMind Development Kits will ship during the first half of 2020. A Dev Kit pre-order announcement is anticipated in January. Developers interested in receiving special advance notice about placing orders can sign up at http://www.next-mind.com/waitlist.

NextMind will allow the public to try its remarkable new brain-sensing wearable at CES 2020 in booth #21839 in LVCC, South Hall 1 from Jan. 7-10. Press will have early access to personal demonstrations at CES Unveiled Las Vegas on Jan. 5.

You can see NextMind in action in the video below.

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Neurotechnology startup NextMind unveils world's first brain-sensing wearable that delivers real-time device control with just your thoughts -...

HELSINKI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sid Kouider, founder and CEO of NextMind, a fast-growing neurotechnology startup, today unveiled the world's first brain-sensing wearable that delivers real-time device control using just a person's thoughts at Slush 2019. This groundbreaking technology is a first-of-its-kind, noninvasive, brain-computer interface that translates brain signals instantly from the user's visual cortex into digital commands for any device in real time.

"This technology breakthrough represents the next frontier of human-computer interaction and we are truly humbled to be here today introducing NextMind to the world," said Kouider. "For those who have said it would never be possible with noninvasive technology to communicate intent and implement actions directly from our brain to the world around us, it's time to believe - because this is real, and the possibilities are truly endless."

The small, light-weight, round device fits into the back of a cap or headband, and rests gently on the user's head. It captures data from the electrical signals created by the user's neuron activity in the visual cortex, and using machine learning algorithms, transforms that output into communication that enables easier interaction and control with a computer, AR/VR headset or any device within the Internet of Things.

According to Kouider, a limited number of NextMind Development Kits will ship during the first half of 2020. A Dev Kit pre-order announcement is anticipated in January. Developers interested in receiving special advance notice about placing orders can sign up at http://www.next-mind.com/waitlist.

NextMind will allow the public to try its remarkable new brain-sensing wearable at CES 2020 in booth #21839 in LVCC, South Hall 1 from Jan. 7-10. Press will have early access to personal demonstrations at CES Unveiled Las Vegas on Jan. 5.

About NextMind

NextMind is a fast-growing tech startup that has developed a first-of-its-kind, brain-sensing wearable that delivers real-time device control using just a person's thoughts. NextMind's groundbreaking technology, based on proven scientific research conducted over the past 20 years, translates brain signals from the visual cortex into digital commands in real time, enabling easier interaction and control of computers, AR/VR headsets or any device. For more information, visit next-mind.com and follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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NextMind Unveils World's First Brain-Sensing Wearable That Delivers Real-Time Device Control With Just Your Thoughts - Business Wire

If researchers can use implanted BCIs to allow people to bypass their muscles, indeed, if these scientists can find a cost-effective, reliable way to work around a damaged or compromised nervous system, people suffering paraplegia, amputation, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's, and a host of other diseases that rob them of their independence, may soon find that the frustrations of daily life are lessened.

Richard van Hooijdonk | Richard van Hooijdonk

Bill Kochevar wears a bright red shirt and what looks like a cast on his right arm. As he raises a fork to his mouth, his movements are awkward and slow, supported by a gravity defying brace mounted on the floor next to his wheelchair.

Hes got a fork full of mashed potatoes, and as he raises it to his mouth, the joy on his face is unmistakable.

It was amazing...I thought about moving my arm and it did!

That may seem unremarkable to you, but since a bicycle collision with a mail truck, Kochevar has been paralysed from the neck down.

Just imagine being paralysed.

Its the stuff of nightmares--wanting to flee and finding your legs rooted in place, unresponsive.

And weve all slept on an arm for long enough to render it dead. Think about that experience now. When you woke up, your limb was just meat, just dead weight that wouldnt move at your beck and call as it should.

Now imagine knowing that no amount of waiting will summon the pins and needles that mean your arm is coming back from the dead, that instead, itll hang lifeless at your side for the rest of your life, and that far from being indispensably useful, youll instead spend every waking moment trying to compensate for this new obstacle, adjusting everything you do from brushing your teeth to driving a car to typing at work--if, indeed, you can work.

Now extend that to multiple limbs or remove them altogether.

You can start to see what its like to live in a body that refuses to cooperate.

Paralysis affects far more people than you might realise. For instance, the Reeve Foundation recently found that 1 in 50 Americans struggle with paralysis caused by stroke, spinal injury, and muscular sclerosis. Nearly a majority are unable to work, a staggering 41.8%.

For them, independence is a dream, something they might remember but no longer experience. But now, advances in neurotech may help them live fuller, more self-sufficient lives.

Mind-controlled wheelchairs and the next step

To help those whove suffered a profound loss of motor control, researchers have been exploring mind-controlled wheelchairs. Rodrigo Quevedo, a Chilean engineer, has developed a design in his Idea factory. His motivating passion, he says, is to do something so [paraplegics] can move. Rodrigos current designs steer the chair by subtle head movements, but hes hoping to make the move to neural control soon.

Diwakar Vaish beat Rodrigo to the punch. This young Indian tech guru has developed the first commercially available wheelchair that features a brain computer interface (BCI). The user need only wear a headset that collects information from her brains electrical impulses, the neural storm that accompanies thought. The BCI translates these minute electrical signals into a language a computer can understand, something like a sophisticated google translate of thoughts. Now that the computer can grasp what a particular thought looks like, it can react and obey.

In Vaishs system, the non-invasive headset connects the users brain to the chair via Bluetooth, and augmented by proximity and terrain sensors, this has allowed even the most stricken patients a measure of autonomy. All thats demanded of the user is a healthy brain, so even those trapped by Locked-in Syndrome can use the new chair. As Vaish told The Sunday Guardian, We have tried it on patients who are in a vegetative state, but their brain is functional and it was successful.

The next steps are to move beyond motorised chairs and into the world of exoskeletons. Miguel Nicolelis, a Brazilian neuroscientist, has been working together with colleagues at Duke University as part of the Walk Again Project to design a wireless system that allows control of a wheelchair with thought alone. By implanting a tiny BCI in the brain of two rhesus monkeys, chosen for their similarity to human beings, they were able to demonstrate that it could control the movements of the chair. Hes pursuing this method because, as he explained to the Mirror, In some severely disabled people, even blinking is not possible. For them, using a wheelchair or device controlled by non invasive measures like an EEG, a device that monitors brain waves through electrodes on the scalp, may not be sufficient. To provide the control they need, invasive measures are necessary.

Nicolelis goal, then, isnt to duplicate Vaishs design. Instead, he wants eventually to develop robotic exoskeletons that are nothing less than an extension of their users mind, a dream he thinks is within reach given the data from these early experiments. For his test monkeys, the chair became something more than a means to get from one place to another; in fact, the wheelchair is being assimilated by the monkeys brain as an extension of its bodily representation of itself. If Nicolelis is right, he might be taking the first steps toward real mobility for paraplegics and others with profound motor impairment. We are not focused on the wheelchair, he promises.

Until now, if you lost an arm--but still had enough of one to be fitted for a prosthesis--doctors could fit you with an artificial arm that you could learn to control by moving the muscles left in your stump. These cumbersome systems are hobbled on a lot of these ifs: if the patient has enough remaining tissue, if the tissue still allows muscle movement, if the prosthetic arm can work well enough outside the lab.

These ifs fall on patients live like a thick blanket of snow, quickly obscuring the way forward. Thats why as many as half of these patients find their new arms collecting dust.

But scientists are well aware of these technological limitations, and their working to overcome them. One example of promising research comes from Johns Hopkins. Working with an epilepsy patient who needed his brain mapped to help him combat his seizures, a process wherein doctors implant tiny electrodes to stimulate the brain at precise--and unique--points, a research team led by Nathan Crone was able to implant a tiny BCI as well. 128 sensors in an areas about the size of a credit card were attached to the part of the mans brain that controls the arm and hand. After mapping exactly how the patients brain worked with a special glove, this interface allowed the Hopkins team to bypass the patients body and use only his thoughts to control the individual fingers of a robotic hand.

Initial results were promising; after mapping his brain, the test patient was able to control the robotic hand with 76% accuracy. By refining the control of the prosthesis--pairing the ring and pinky fingers together, that number rose to 88%. Thats no small feat!

The advantage of a system like this is not only that it can allow functional independence to people who had given up on caring for themselves, but also that it isnt artificial. Patients need merely think about what they want to do--and the artificial limb, chair, or robotic appendage does what its supposed to do. Case Western Reserve University is experimenting with implanted BCIs that have returned a measure of control to Kochevar. Now able to feed himself, hold a cup, and manipulate a fork, he explains, I think about what I want to do and the system does it for me. Its not a lot of thinking about it. When I want to do something, my brain does what it does. The researchers working with him think this is only the beginning.

With further development, we believe the technology could give more accurate control, allowing a wider range of actions, which could begin to transform the lives of people living with paralysis, Bolu Ajiboye, the lead scientist for this study told The Guardian.

Ajiboyes optimism is bolstered by the success of patients like Kochevar, who can slowly raise a mug to his lips and drink from a straw. For someone with quadriplegia to gain even this limited mobility is life-changing, and this advance charts the course for future innovations and provides powerful new tools to help those in need.

If researchers can use implanted BCIs to allow people to bypass their muscles, indeed, if these scientists can find a cost-effective, reliable way to work around a damaged or compromised nervous system, people suffering paraplegia, amputation, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's, and a host of other diseases that rob them of their independence, may soon find that the frustrations of daily life are lessened. For futurists and trendwatchers, the promise is clear.

This new breed of BCI, powered by advances in neuroscience, isnt just technology.

Its hope.

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Neurotechnology and the Future of Hope - Robotics Tomorrow (press release)

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Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK).

On June 30 analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald starting coverage on the stock giving it an initial rating of Neutral. On May 16, 2017 Goldman Sachs released its first research report on the stock by announcing an initial rating of Neutral.

In the market the company is trading down by -0.12% since yesterdays close of $138.36. Additionally the company recently declared a dividend which will be paid on Tuesday the 31st of October 2017. The dividend will be $0.425 per share for the quarter which is $1.70 annualized. The dividend yield will be $1.17. The ex-dividend date will be on Wednesday the 28th of June 2017.

The stock last traded at $138.19 which is marginally lower than the 50 day moving average of $144.81 and which is slightly above the 200 day moving average of $136.90. The 50 day moving average was down by -4.54% and the 200 day average went up $1.34 or +0.98%.

Stryker Corporation (Stryker), launched on February 20, 1946, is a medical technology company. The Company offers a range of medical technologies, including orthopedic, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spine products. The Businesss segments include Orthopaedics; MedSurg; Neurotechnology and Spine, and Corporate and Other. The Orthopaedics segment includes reconstructive (hip and knee) and trauma implant systems and other related products. The Businesss MedSurg segment consists of instruments, endoscopy, medical and sustainability products. The Neurotechnology and Spine segment includes neurovascular products, spinal implant systems and other related products..

Stryker Corporations P/E ratio is 30.86 and market capitalization is 51.71B. As of the last earnings report the EPS was $4.48 and is projected to be $6.50 for the current year with 374,063,000 shares outstanding. Analysts expect next quarters EPS to be $1.95 with next years EPS anticipated to be $7.11.

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Canaccord Genuity Keeps Rating And Raises Price Target On Stryker Corporation (SYK) - Modern Readers

New technologies may be on the way to better help doctors diagnose and treat patients with neurological diseases.

Researchers from the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) have come together to develop several new technologies, including an artificial intelligence system that can accurately identify types of traumatic brain injuries from computed tomography (CT) scans.

Innovation occurs at intersections of disciplines, knowledge and expertise, associate professor Ng Wai Hoe, Medical Director of the National Neuroscience Institute, said in a statement. Doctors have a deep understanding of clinical needs from their everyday interactions with patients.

Our unique collaboration brings these medical needs to engineering laboratoriesan environment where imagination is encouraged in the form of technological advances and capabilities.

The researchers also plan to develop a computer algorithm for more precise identification of tissues during brain surgeries, which aim to restore the neurological functions of patients suffering from various conditions including Parkinsons disease.

A new fellowship programmanaged by NTUs Institute for Health Technologieswill see up to two neurosurgical residents at NNI work full-time with NTU professors on campus, with each resident receiving $100,000 to complete and commercialize these projects.

The program was designed to foster a relationship over the next three years between medical practitioners and engineers through annual fellowships and student attachment programs.

The rapidly ageing population will lead to a significant rise in neurological diseases globally, Hoe said. By harnessing the power of the human brain, neurotechnology can provide solutions to revolutionize the treatment of brain disorders.

This partnership has great potential to be an innovation launchpad for neurotechnology.

A student attachment program aimed at grooming multidisciplinary scientists will also be introduced, giving students an opportunity to widen their engineering knowledge into medical practice, gaining first-hand exposure to various aspects of clinical medicine by interacting with neurosurgeons.

Professor Lam Khin Yong, NTU's Chief of Staff and Vice President for Research, said the new technology will assist the next wave of doctors.

This collaboration creates a unique multidisciplinary research environment by integrating healthcare with both medical and engineering expertise from NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine and College of Engineering, Yong said in a statement. This will not only nurture next-generation doctors armed with a multidisciplinary skillset to meet Singapore's healthcare needs, but also enhance medical technologies to diagnose and treat neurological conditions more effectively.

In Switzerland, additional technological advancements are making an impact in the treatment of neurological disorders.

Researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics at cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL) and at the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, have developed an algorithm to help those paralyzed by a neurological disorder or injury. The algorithm helps a robotic harness facilitate the movements of patients, enabling them to move naturally. This new technology could help patients regain their locomotor skills

A variety of neurological disorders including stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, can lead to paralysis. Currently, people with motor disabilities rehabilitate by walking on a treadmill with the upper torso being supported by an apparatus. However, this can be either too rigid or does not allow the patient to move naturally in all directions.

Locomotor rehabilitation requires helping the nervous system relearn the right movements, which is difficult due to the loss of muscle mass in patients, as well as train the neurological wiring that has forgotten correct posture.

The researchers designed the algorithm to overcome these obstacles. The robotic rehabilitation harness was tested on more than 30 patients and markedly and immediately improved the patients locomotor abilities.

The harnesscalled the smart walk assistis a body-weight support system that manages to resist the force of gravity and push the patient in a given direction to recreate a natural gait and movement that the patient needs in their everyday lives.

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Technology Key to Fighting Neurological Disease - R & D Magazine

JoAnne Viviano The Columbus Dispatch @JoAnneViviano

A new pain pellet that scientists are developing in Columbus isabout half the size of a grain of rice, but researchers say it delivers a big dose of relief that could one day help fight the opioid epidemic.

The tiny rod holds a nonaddictive painkiller that doctors could insert in the lower back, much like an epidural, to give a patient a break from chronic or acute pain, said Dr. Ali Rezai, director of the Neurological Institute at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. He would not reveal the painkiller, saying only that it is a drug that already has beenused successfully as a cardiovascular medication.

Goals includegiving physicians an alternative to the opioid-based pain medications that have led to addiction.

"We want to look at the opioid crisis," Rezai said. "We want to stop it at its root."

Supporters have formed a company, Sollis Therapeutics, to create the product and are now raising funds, said Dr. Greg Fiore, Sollis' chief executive officer. Fiore hails from Boston and is the founder of Fiore Healthcare Advisors, a scientific consulting firm. Rezai serves as scientific adviser to Sollis.

>> Join the conversation at Facebook.com/columbusdispatchand connect with us on Twitter @DispatchAlerts

A small trial of 55 people with sciatica pain in the lower back and legs showed that the pellet stopped pain for up to one year and was safe and easy to use,Fiore said. Researchers will next seek to perform a large clinical trial, hoping toconfirm effectiveness and safety. The trial will involve a broader group of peopleculled from pain centers across Ohio.

If efficacy and safety are proved, researchers would seek approval for the pellet from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They hope to have the pellet in use within four or five years.

Sollis, headquartered in the University District, is the second company to be formed by the Neurotechnology Innovations Translator, which is funded by the Ohio Third Frontier Program. Both seek to move ideas from the lab to the marketplace.

Opioids are commonly used to treat chronic pain,Rezai said.

But the highly addictive nature of the medications, Fiore said, is a reason to find alternatives. Someone who takes opioids for a single day, for example,has a 6 percent chance of being addicted a year later.

"It's really important to avoid starting, even for legitimate conditions," he said. "It confers an increased risk for not being able to come off these drugs."

Along with medications, 11 million steroid injections are given each year to treat neck and back pain in the United States, Rezai said.Such injections might not work and, when they do, relief doesn'tlast long.

He wanted to bring the project to Ohio, and hopes are to eventually manufacture the pellets here.

"It's one of the ground zero states for the opioid crisis," Rezai said. "This is a big problem; it's just spiraling, so we want to find solutions quickly."

jviviano@dispatch.com

@JoAnneViviano

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Could this back-pain device end need for opioids? - The Columbus Dispatch

Elon Musk wants to get inside your head. In April, the Silicon Valley billionaire announced plans to launch Neuralinka company dedicated to developing a brain-to-machine interface to cure brain ailments like paralysis and memory problems and help people compete with robots when the artificial intelligence revolution makes human brains obsolete. Musk says this will be accomplished by implanting tiny electrodes into the brainallowing for things like downloading and uploading memory and casual brain-to-brain communication.

Leaders in the neurotechnology field welcome Musks arrival, while neuroethicists and others urge caution. The endeavor may sound like science fiction, but its feasible, says Timothy Deer, president of the International Neuromodulation Society, a nonprofit group of researchers and developers dedicated to using spinal cord stimulation to treat neurological pain. The cochlear implant was invented 20 years ago, and with electricity and the right frequencies targeting the brain, it allows people to hear, he says. That sounded impossible back then. And great gains require great brains, Deer says. Ben Franklin didnt know how to harness electricity, but he and others knew it was the key to something. Now, we know how to use electricity in very specific ways. Its exciting to see how Mr. Musk might change how we think.

Humans have been trying to mess with their brain waves to solve diseases since ancient times: The Romans and Greeks used to put electric fish on top of their heads to relieve pain, says Ana Maiques, CEO of Neuroelectrics, a company that develops noninvasive wireless brain monitoring and stimulation technologies.

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Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc., gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Fremont, California, on September 29, 2015. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty

Maiques is happy Musk has entered the neurotech field. With new technologies, including artificial intelligence, there is a lot of room for startups and new companies, she says.

Jennifer French, co-founder and executive director of Neurotech Network, a nonprofit that advocates for and educates the public about implantable technology, says investments in neuroscience and neurotechnology from the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative started by the Obama administration have been critical in exploring the brains mysteries.

Zack Lynch, founder of Neurotechnology Industry Organization, a global trade association representing companies involved in neuroscience and brain research, says, The [human] brain is the most complicated organ on the planet. The neurotechnology industry produces $165 billion in yearly revenue, he says, but 90 percent of that revenue comes from pharmaceuticals for neurological disorders like Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Annual revenue from neurological devices is about $10 billion.

If Musk is successful, he will run into a swamp of ethical issues. Neuroscience raises questions about technology, art, entertainment, warfare, religion and what it means to be human, Lynch says. And these considerations will be difficult to address in the short term, says Peter Reiner, professor and co-founder of the National Core for Neuroethics. Most important is privacy of thought. When a computer is hooked up to me and knows what Im thinking, that becomes a very challenging area to navigate. Another issue is what Reiner calls reason bypassing. If a device can influence your brain without you perceiving it, are you really making your decisions? He believes society already faces these questions with smartphones: Advertisers are collecting information about users based on their browsing habits and then using that data to try to change their behavior.

Daniel Wilson, a best-selling author and robotics engineer, considers these ethical issues in his novel Amped, which predicts that neurotechnology will cure people with mental disabilities and eventually help them leapfrog beyond human ability. The amplified humans known as amps are then discriminated against because the public fears their abilities.

Wilson believes brain-to-machine interfaces will become common, but that they will not diminish the humanity of their users. People often look at human creations, and we call them unnatural, Wilson says. But from my perspective, theres nothing more natural than a human being creating a tool. Birds nests or anything animals do instinctively always seems natural, but we consider it unnatural when a human uses a tool. Thats the most natural thing that a human can do. To put that tool in our bodies is a completely natural extension of what weve been doing for millennia.

Excerpt from:

In the Future, Humans Will Use Brain to Brain Communication and Download Their Memories If Elon Musk Has His Way - Newsweek