Doctors have managed to wake a man from a virtual coma after six years, thanks to the implantation of platinum-iridium electrodes in his skull.

The 38-year-old had been unable to walk, talk or eat as a result of severe brain damage, but the presence of the electrodes embedded deep in his brain means he is now able to carry out some simple tasks and can once again talk.

The electrodes, made from a platinum-iridium alloy, delivered pulses of electricity to two specific points in the man's brain and this has aroused the brain sufficiently for him to be able to speak and carry out simple tasks such as brushing his teeth.

Pioneering research has been carried out on the technology by a team at the JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute-Centre for Head Injuries, New Jersey; the Cleveland Clinic; and Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City.

Surgeons connected electrodes into the patient's central thalamus and connected them to programmable pacemaker batteries in the chest, allowing for 12 hours of stimulation to the brain every day.

The technology means that as many as 300,000 patients could be coaxed back to awareness by the treatment in future, the scientists believe.

Sources:

Man woken from virtual coma after six years, 3/08/07
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/01/nbrain101.xml

Brain stimulation gives new life to patient, 3/08/07
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1a9e4ae0-4094-11dc-9d0c-0000779fd2ac.html

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