Electrical Stimulation: A Panacea for Disease?: DARPA Investigates New Bioelectrical Interfaces for a Range of Disorders

It seems simple: send a small electrical current to a major nerve in the body and stimulate hormones and organs to react in the way you want. New efforts by research teams are doing just that, zapping peripheral nerves attached to major organs in the hopes of addressing problems as diverse as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic pain, and post traumatic stress disorder. Thanks to the continued advance of smaller and more efficient electronics, researchers are finding new ways to develop implantable bioelectrical devices to treat a wide range of ailments.