Blindfolded humans steered by remote control
Artificial electric currents guide walkers round obstacles.
It sounds like the stuff of magic — or a Harry Potter Imperius curse. But scientists have announced that they can guide your movements by remote control. They've steered blindfolded humans around the paths of a botanical garden in Sydney, Australia, using electric currents applied just behind the walkers' ears to affect their balance and navigation. The same technique, they say, might be used in virtual-reality simulations, or to cure motion sickness.
Read the story here.
Comments
A more serious application of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) than computer games may be in reducing falls among elderly persons. One statistic is that 30% of all people 65 years of age report at least one fall per year. This rises to 50% for those >/=80 and is greter for those in nursing homes.
A 2001 UCSF geriatric paper estimates the medical cost of hip fractures at $2B/yr. accompanied by more dependence and mortality. Despite a diversity of etiologies involved in falls GVS could conceivably improve quality of life for elderly persons and decrease healthcare costs.
Posted by: Tom Shillock | August 9, 2006 07:09 PM