- cross-posted to:
- science@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- science@beehaw.org
A woman whose epilepsy was greatly improved by an experimental brain implant was devastated when, just two years after getting it, she was forced to have it removed due to the company that made it going bankrupt.
As the MIT Technology Review reports, an Australian woman named Rita Leggett who received an experimental seizure-tracking brain-computer interface (BCI) implant from the now-defunct company Neuravista in 2010 has become a stark example not only of the ways neurotech can help people, but also of the trauma of losing access to them when experiments end or companies go under.
I’m sure if she revoked the informed consent they never would have done the implant to begin with. It’s an experimental procedure so you kind of need to agree to being expiramented on to participate.
You can revoke your informed consent agreement at any time, including after a study has concluded, though it doesn’t usually do you much good after it’s done. it specifically means that you no longer agree to understanding the risks and benefits.
I found a paper that someone wrote on the subject and it appears that the woman did consent to having it removed, though she ultimately did wish she could have kept it. From the OPs article, it sounds like she was forced to have the craniotomy against her will which isn’t the case.
https://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S1935-861X(23)01910-1/fulltext
That checks out. Thank you.