Re:Other possible applications of this tech? (Score 1)

In many cases, the pain was created by actual trauma, but remains long after the trauma is gone. Jerry Lewis estimates that he did 19,000 pratfalls during his career playing a bumbling fool (basically the same act as the "Jackass" guys do now, without the life-threatening setups, drug use, or foul language). Jerry's act left him with 37 years of excruciating pain, long after the pratfalls had ended. Even after his back had healed from all of its injuries, the pain remained, to the point that he had major depression and was suicidal. Doctors had him on pain-killer cocktails and had tried various surgeries, but nothing worked to reduce the chronic pain. Finally, his doctor recommended electrodes (the same system in this brain implant story) be implanted in his spine. He is now totally free of pain. Sometimes, a lifestyle change is not enough. It is estimated that 100,000 people suffer from chronic pain not related to recent trauma.