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Parachute Fail Victim Receives First Implant of the Eon Mini Pacemaker For Pain
Posted by Sean Fallon at 1:00 AM on September 19, 2008
Adam Hammond, a former member of the U.S. Army's "Golden Knights" Parachute Team, has become the first recipient of the Eon Mini—the world's smallest spinal cord stimulator. After suffering a broken femur, a shattered pelvis and a severed spine in an epic parachute fail a few years ago, it seemed that Hammond would be condemned to a life of severe chronic pain. Doctors hoped that implanting the new Eon Mini would offer a solution by delivering repeated mild electrical impulses to the spinal cord. So far, Hammond claims that the device offers "significant pain relief" and that he was able to "walk twice as far" as he could previously.
Spinal cord simulators are nothing new, but the size of the Eon Mini combined with the fact that it is easily recharged make it a viable solution for people with severe back problems or other chronic conditions. Unfortunately, it may be awhile before you can have one implanted for your bad back, gimpy knee and pesky RSI. [LiveScience]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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Kaspir
Posted 1:41 AM 19/9/08
by the way Sean "combined with the fact that it is easily recharged ", I wouldn't call a battery that has to be surgically replaced "easily recharged", might want to double check that one.
Kaspir
Kaspir
Posted 1:35 AM 19/9/08
@Curves: I agree, I would have no problem using tax dollars to get ppl off the welfare train. I think this is cool tech, but I wonder how long until we have units like this that are designed to not only help with pain, but produce pleasure, perhaps the Soma in Brave New World won't be a pill at all?
Kaspir
fragglepac
Posted 1:31 AM 19/9/08
Apparently these guys never read "Terminal Man".
fragglepac
Curves
Posted 1:28 AM 19/9/08
This could be hope for millions who suffer pain daily. It could also allow the people on SSI or welfare for chronic pain to get OFF the roles, which is good for all of us.
@Mooby: I cant tell if its a Susan B or a Sacagawea (I cant recall what the b-side looks like). Both coins were hoarded immediately by the public (I have many myself) and so never got the chance to circulate.
Curves
lldsandsll
Posted 1:27 AM 19/9/08
@Substance_D: what pain? the pain of life? we'll see how far you make it in life.
lldsandsll
russdanger
Posted 1:23 AM 19/9/08
In the "Evil Spock" universe, this is called "Your Agonizer".
I'm curious though, how many gigabytes of music and video does it store?
russdanger
Substance_D
Posted 1:09 AM 19/9/08
How 'bout you you just take like all the Oxycontin and call it a day. Works for all my pain :D
Substance_D
Mooby
Posted 1:05 AM 19/9/08
Is that a Susan B. Anthony dollar? Talk about epic fail.
Mooby
Kaspir
Posted 1:52 AM 19/9/08
@Sean Fallon: my apologies sir, I read the caption under the pic in the link and misunderstood, the company website went into detail about the recharging, which I just got done reading. I stand corrected.
Kaspir
Sean Fallon
Posted 1:50 AM 19/9/08
@Kaspir: It has to be replaced every 10 years. You can recharge it for daily use at your convenience.
Sean Fallon
aduzik
Posted 1:50 AM 19/9/08
@Kaspir: It doesn't have to be surgically replaced to be recharged. There's a induction charger you use to recharge it through the skin as infrequently as every 120 days, depending on the output level. The battery is rated to last 10 years, and by then I'm sure your next device will have a battery that lasts considerably longer.
aduzik
Kaspir
Posted 2:07 AM 19/9/08
@Mooby: since this is kinda related, did you get any of those washington dollars without the print on the outer rim?
Kaspir
Mooby
Posted 2:06 AM 19/9/08
@Curves:I believe it is a Susan B. Anthony dollar. The Sacagawea dollar is golden in color and has an eagle in flight on the back. Hoarding wasn't the only thing that doomed the Susan B., though. The fact that it was nearly idetical in size, shape, and color to a quarter helped seal its fate as being impractical.
Mooby
ideaman2020
Posted 3:11 AM 19/9/08
@Curves: Sacajaweas are golden-colored.
I like 'em. Much better than the SBAnthony or the "presidential" ones.
Oh, and I use all three. I'm too cheap to hoard money. Although I do have an almost complete collection of state quarters. And lots of Bicentennials. Wait... I guess I'm not too cheap to hoard money.
What was the topic, again?
ideaman2020
TPIRman
Posted 3:06 AM 19/9/08
Nope, I'm wrong, it's just a plain old Eisenhower dollar. Forgot about those.
TPIRman
TPIRman
Posted 3:05 AM 19/9/08
@Mooby: Agreed, the back looks like a Susan B. Anthony dollar, except it doesn't have the distinctive hendecagon around the inside of the outer rim. It looks like they Photoshopped the design from the back of an Anthony dollar onto the shape of a quarter. But why would they bother...?
TPIRman
Mooby
Posted 4:20 AM 19/9/08
@Kaspir: Sorry. I didn't mean to hijack this thread before it even got rolling. Snarky and off-topic was all I had at the time. Apparently, I didn't even get it right as TPIRman noted that it is an Eisenhower dollar.
I should go back to just lurking...
Mooby
MikeGrenade
Posted 4:37 AM 19/9/08
@TPIRman: Yep, it's an Eishenhower. Which means this thing is huge.
MikeGrenade
sridhar3
Posted 4:59 AM 19/9/08
Impressive. Looking forward to when they make pacemakers this small (and rechargeable).
sridhar3
Kaspir
Posted 5:50 AM 19/9/08
@Mooby: Lol, I was seriously asking if you had gotten any of those Washington dollar coins with the inscription error on the edges (some didn't have the writing on the outer edge), wasn't giving you a hard time at all I swear.
Kaspir
JEmlay
Posted 8:28 AM 19/9/08
Meanwhile someone is currently hacking into this device in order to bring these people down to their knees at the push of a button!
JEmlay
MePerson
Posted 9:08 AM 19/9/08
That would be awesome to have: no pain at all.
MePerson