- Science
- Not Exactly Rocket Science
Cyborg Bladders Stop Incontinence In Rats After Spine Damage
Implants that read and decipher our brain activity have allowed people to control computers, robotic limbs or even remote-controlled helicopters, just by thinking about it. These devices are called BMIs, short for brain-machine interfaces.
But our cyborg future isn’t limited to machines that hook up to our brains. At the University of Cambridge, James Fawcett has created a BMI where the B stands for bladder. The implanted machine senses when a bladder is full, and automatically sends signals that stop the organ from emptying itself.
So far, it works in rats. It will take a lot of work to translate the technique into humans, but it could give bladder control back to people who have lost it through