Medical electronics [Technology 1998 analysis and forecast]

In silicon systems and in the carbon-based human body, “circuit” design is intimately linked with proper signal timing. When the body´s electrical circuitry malfunctions, the consequences can range from tremors to paralysis; when the heart´s electrical timing is off, the consequences can include strokes, heart attacks, and even death. Last year a number of devices passed major hurdles to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, Md. Among them were devices that not only diagnose faulty electrical pathways or timing loops, but nudge them back into working rhythm. The authors discuss: remedying neural function with pacemakers; reinstating voluntary movement; new blood vessels for the heart