A computer chip for the brain to control seizures?
BY ADA BROWNELL
A few days the news reported a computer chip has been developed that is expected to control or prevent Alzheimer's Disease.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November 2012 surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, one of the first such operations in the United States--and now it appears the brain computer chip works. The device, which provides deep brain stimulation and has been used in thousands of people with Parkinson’s disease, is seen as a possible means of boosting memory and reversing cognitive decline.
This interested me since in my novel, Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult, a missing computer design for a chip to control grand mal seizures is an integral part of the story. Here's the section from the book, published in 2012 and enjoyed by youth as well as adults. I hadn't even heard of the Alzheimer's chip. The idea came to me in interviewing physicians about epilepsy and seizures during my seven years on the medical beat for The Pueblo Chieftain.
First the book summary:
Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the CatapultBy A.B. BrownellEnter an area where people are missing and radicals want to obliterate Christianity from the earth. Joe Baker’s parents are missing and he finds himself with someone after him. Joe joins a gang committed to preventing and solving crimes with harmless things such as noise, water, and a pet skunk instead of blades and bullets Praying for his parents’ return, in his dreams Joe slips into the skin of Bible characters. He ends up in a mental hospital. Will he escape or be harmed? Will he find his parents? Does God answer prayer?
No fantasy. No wizard, but suspense. Christian payload. Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the CatapultReviewer: “A.B. Brownell weaves a tale of intrigue and faith which captures the reader from the opening page.”
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06
Excerpt from Chapter Four:
“Darin,” Kermesis said. “It’s time you came to your senses.
Your wife suffers being here. She used to be a beautiful woman. Look at her. And look at you. You were a handsome man! We hate to do this to you. You are one of the most talented men I know. Putting medical knowledge into a software design to control epilepsy was a stroke of genius. You can make a difference in America. We have a plan to bring hope to our country. Where is the program?”
Darin turned toward his former boss, the trowel still in his hand. “I created the design to work within the brain because my little brother used to have grand mal seizures. He’d scream and then fall unconscious on the floor, and the violent muscle contractions began. Sometimes he’d lose bladder and bowel control. He’d wake up with a severe headache, ashamed, embarrassed, and weak.”Darin took a deep breath. “In epilepsy, grand mal seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The proposed chip will be designed to keep cranial activity in the normal range—similar to how a heart pacemaker works to correct abnormal heart beats.”“That’s exactly why I want it!”“Medications prevent seizures in some people,” Darin continued, folding his arms across his bony chest. “Geodesic brain mapping now shows which parts of the brain cause seizures. In some cases, neurosurgeons remove parts of the brain to interrupt nerve pathways through which seizure impulses spread.”Kermesis tried to interrupt, but Darin put up his hand and kept talking.“Vagus nerve stimulators about the size of a silver dollar are one of the new treatments. Surgeons implant them in the upper chest, yet even that rarely eliminates all seizures and works for only about half the patients. USE THIS LINK TO BUY THE BOOK OR READ FIRST CHAPTER
A few days the news reported a computer chip has been developed that is expected to control or prevent Alzheimer's Disease.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November 2012 surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, one of the first such operations in the United States--and now it appears the brain computer chip works. The device, which provides deep brain stimulation and has been used in thousands of people with Parkinson’s disease, is seen as a possible means of boosting memory and reversing cognitive decline.
This interested me since in my novel, Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult, a missing computer design for a chip to control grand mal seizures is an integral part of the story. Here's the section from the book, published in 2012 and enjoyed by youth as well as adults. I hadn't even heard of the Alzheimer's chip. The idea came to me in interviewing physicians about epilepsy and seizures during my seven years on the medical beat for The Pueblo Chieftain.
First the book summary:
Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the CatapultBy A.B. BrownellEnter an area where people are missing and radicals want to obliterate Christianity from the earth. Joe Baker’s parents are missing and he finds himself with someone after him. Joe joins a gang committed to preventing and solving crimes with harmless things such as noise, water, and a pet skunk instead of blades and bullets Praying for his parents’ return, in his dreams Joe slips into the skin of Bible characters. He ends up in a mental hospital. Will he escape or be harmed? Will he find his parents? Does God answer prayer?
No fantasy. No wizard, but suspense. Christian payload. Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the CatapultReviewer: “A.B. Brownell weaves a tale of intrigue and faith which captures the reader from the opening page.”
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06
Excerpt from Chapter Four:
“Darin,” Kermesis said. “It’s time you came to your senses.
Your wife suffers being here. She used to be a beautiful woman. Look at her. And look at you. You were a handsome man! We hate to do this to you. You are one of the most talented men I know. Putting medical knowledge into a software design to control epilepsy was a stroke of genius. You can make a difference in America. We have a plan to bring hope to our country. Where is the program?”Darin turned toward his former boss, the trowel still in his hand. “I created the design to work within the brain because my little brother used to have grand mal seizures. He’d scream and then fall unconscious on the floor, and the violent muscle contractions began. Sometimes he’d lose bladder and bowel control. He’d wake up with a severe headache, ashamed, embarrassed, and weak.”Darin took a deep breath. “In epilepsy, grand mal seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The proposed chip will be designed to keep cranial activity in the normal range—similar to how a heart pacemaker works to correct abnormal heart beats.”“That’s exactly why I want it!”“Medications prevent seizures in some people,” Darin continued, folding his arms across his bony chest. “Geodesic brain mapping now shows which parts of the brain cause seizures. In some cases, neurosurgeons remove parts of the brain to interrupt nerve pathways through which seizure impulses spread.”Kermesis tried to interrupt, but Darin put up his hand and kept talking.“Vagus nerve stimulators about the size of a silver dollar are one of the new treatments. Surgeons implant them in the upper chest, yet even that rarely eliminates all seizures and works for only about half the patients. USE THIS LINK TO BUY THE BOOK OR READ FIRST CHAPTER
No comments have been added yet.
