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Public Understanding of Neural Prosthetics in Germany: Ethical, Social, and Cultural Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2011

KATSIARYNA LARYIONAVA  and
DOMINIK GROSS
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Extract

Since the development of the first neural prosthesis, that is, the cochlear implant in 1957, neural prosthetics have been one of the highly promising, yet most challenging areas of medicine, while having become a clinically accepted form of invasiveness into the human body. Neural prosthetic devices, of which at least one part is inserted into the body, interact directly with the nervous system to restore or replace lost or damaged sensory, motor, or cognitive functions. This field is not homogenous and encompasses a variety of technologies, which are in various stages of development. Some devices are well established in clinical practice and have become routine, such as cochlear implants. By comparison, other technologies are in experimental phases and still need to be further developed to achieve the desired results.

Type
Special Section: Bioethics beyond Borders 2011
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , July 2011 , pp. 434 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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