The Machine-Man Interface: Current and Future Perspectives on Neural Prosthesis in the World of Otolaryngology
Todd
Hillman, University of Utah
Numerous clinical conditions remain challenging to treat because of the difficulty inherent with recording from and stimulating injured neural systems. Bioengineering breakthroughs have made continued to push the potential limits on machine-man neural system interfacing. No other field of medicine had enjoyed the success of such systems than Otolaryngology. The success of cochlear implantation in the restoration of hearing to the profoundly deaf has fueled the desire to create new interfaces that could improve upon current efficacy and to initiate the development of new systems to treat other neural pathologies in Otolaryngology including vocal cord paralysis and vestibular dysfunction. The goal of this lecture is to provide an update on some of the collaborative research being done in this field with emphasis on the role of how Bioengineering advances will shape the future of how clinicians address neural pathologies in Otolaryngology.